Level 3: Experiments
by arpulver
Summary: After leaving four years ago and learning the truth about his world, Takato Matsuki returns to face the reemerging DReaper. Not to stop it, but to finish what he started, regardless of where it takes him.
1. Futility

_**Level 3: Experiments**  
_  
**Stage One- Futility **

Henry Wong took one last drag on his cigarette before casting it onto the cement surface below him. For a brief moment his self-control failed him and he was tempted to reach for another. But the disapproving look on his companion's face stopped him. Instead he released a heavy, smoke-filled sigh and closed his eyes in an effort to hurry along the inevitable.

"Two questions," Kazu began, forcing Henry to open his eyes and see his friend staring back, curious, "First- when did you start smoking?"

"I don't know. Does it really matter now?" Henry replied sullenly.

Kazu nodded. "Guess that answers my second question too," he said as he pointed to the "No Smoking" sign on the column Henry was leaning on.

"Oops," Henry said, almost serious.

Kazu turned to the train tracks in front of them. He tried to spy down the line, hoping to catch a glimpse of the arriving vessel. "When's it supposed to be here?" he asked.

"We got here early. Should be here soon."

Even though Henry did not like the way things were unfolding, he wanted them to pass by as quickly as possible. The last few years had been so empty; at this point any change was desirable, no matter the cost.

Kazu, on the other hand, was growing more anxious. Kazu wanted the train to arrive the events to unfold, hoping to find an unaccounted path leading them out of trouble. Henry saw no secret road leading them out of these woods, but did nothing to deter Kazu's eternal optimism.

In a way, Henry was jealous of Kazu. Both had been doing equally well in life- scoring about the same in the undefined criteria of success. Yet Henry was the one left unfulfilled. He knew exactly why: despite Kazu's role in their life-defining adventure, his road hadn't been as bumpy. Henry had reached such extreme highs that nothing could ever compare. At least Kazu could hope to come close somewhere. But discouraged by his father's death, Takato's disappearance and his falling out with Rika, Henry had little reason to keep going.

The echo of a distant whistle signaled the train's arrival. Kazu stood by Henry as the bevy of passengers exited. The person they were waiting for stepped out last, lifting her ankle-length skirt slightly to prevent it from being caught. Neither Kazu nor Henry had seen her in a couple of years but her fiery hair, even cut short, made her unmistakable. Through her sunglasses she eyed the two and approached them.

"Well?" she asked.

"We'll have to show you," Kazu answered, a smile creeping on his face, "For now... it's good to see you again."

A smile found its way on Rika's mouth as well. "You too Kazu. It's been a while."

"We'd better go. Don't want to keep you waiting," Henry said, not making eye contact with her as he headed to the nearest exit. Rika and Kazu followed with little protest.

* * *

Henry Wong took one last gulp of milk before casting the empty bottle into the nearby wastepaper basket. With both hands now free he tightened his bathrobe and walked down the hall. He lightly rapped on a door and opened it. From the crack in the doorway he could see a blond girl laying on a bed, listening to whichever American pop star was on magazine covers that week. Henry knocked again, drawing her attention away from the computer-enhanced belting.

"Bath's all yours," he said.

"Is it true we're supposed to wash up before we get in?" she asked, wearing a broad smile that seemed to camouflage her perennially blank stare.

"Do you want me to help?" Henry jested.

She shook her head and threw a pillow at the door. "Pervert," she said, retaining her smile.

His message delivered, Henry left her to figure it out herself. A couch in the living room and a book on the end table were inviting him to relax. It wasn't because of Alice; considering how little they had in common, he enjoyed the presence of his childhood friend. She was happily ignorant of all the discord around her. Henry couldn't say the same about himself. He saw the problem clearly: Rob McCoy.

Henry hadn't been happy when he had heard that Rob was visiting, but without a base for protest he couldn't complain. His father and Rob had been friends for decades; it would have been nothing short of an insult for the Wongs not to extend their hospitality. At least it was just for a weekend convention and not something warranting concern.

The sound of running water from the bathroom helped Henry relax. Even if his father was with Dr. McCoy, it didn't mean it would happen again. It didn't mean Henry's father would fall into another childish experiment. It didn't mean Henry would lose his father again.

Henry was just beginning to drift off to sleep when the phone rang. The mere sound was almost enough to give Henry a headache. But he stood up and answered hurriedly.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is Janyuu there?" said the woman on the other end.

"No, he won't be back until later tonight. Can I take a message?" Henry looked around for a piece of scrap paper and a pen.

"Is this Henry?"

"Yes," Henry replied absent-mindedly.

"Hi Henry! Tell your dad this is Tally Onodera..."

"Uh huh." Henry started to write.

"We really need his help so tell him to..." Tally paused. For a few seconds, all Henry heard was her breathing. "Actually, we'd better call back. I don't want to give out our number. What time will he be back?"

Henry eyed the phone's handset. The caller ID wasn't displaying a number. "I don't know. He's at a convention with a friend from America. I'm sure they're not coming straight home, either."

"Friend from America? Who?" Tally asked with immense interest.

"Rob McCoy," Henry answered, in spite of his growing suspicions.

"Really?" Tally exclaimed, "We need to talk to him too."

Her enthusiasm was unsettling. "Does this have anything to do with a few years ago?"

"Yeah and it's really important to talk to them. If you could..."

"No. You aren't talking to them. Dad said that damn thing is over. I will not let it start again!"

"Look, I..."

Henry refused to let her finish. "The whole thing was a bad idea to begin with. Whichever of those crocks decided to bring it back, tell him to forget it. You are not taking him away from us again!"

Tally could only manage a weak "But-" before he slammed the phone down.

After taking a moment to calm his nerves, Henry sat down at the kitchen table. The whole disaster of years ago was haunting him. First it had been Takato. While the strange visitor had never explicitly mentioned anything about the project, he seemed to have some connection to it. Henry had been on edge since the encounter, especially with Dr. McCoy visiting. The so-called world-changing project that had separated Henry from his father for years would not die, even after Janyuu had unhappily proclaimed it an "educational failure" upon his return. Wherever Janyuu had gone, it was calling back to him.

"Not again," Henry said to himself. He was not going to lose his father a second time.

A door behind him slid open. Henry turned to it and saw Alice poking a head and a bare shoulder from the bathroom. She looked vulnerable without her smile. "Henry, what was that all about?"

He pushed aside all urges to tell her and simply said, "Don't worry about it." Not that he expected that to be a problem. Alice closed the door and resumed her bath as Henry retrieved another bottle of milk from the fridge.

* * *

"Hello? Henry?" Tally said from the kitchen, her raised voice consistent with the increasing intensity of the conversation. Takato couldn't hear the other end but Tally's inability to get a word in was not a good sign. At last she hung up, staring at the handset for a few moments as Takato approached.

"Was that Henry?"

Tally sighed. "I like the fake one better," she muttered, staggering into the living room.

Takato turned his head as she sat on the couch. "Could you please not say he's fake?" he demanded.

Another sigh from Tally. "I'm sorry. Just a little stressed, you know?"

Takato dropped the subject. As defensive as he was about his world's validity, he understood the difficulties Tally and Riley had been having trying to develop some sort of plan of attack. The two had been unable to do more than monitor Takato's world; influencing it was not yet a possibility. It had become apparent that outside help was needed. Janyuu Wong was thought to be the best bet.

"So what did he say?" Takato asked.

"Henry won't let us near his dad. And you know how stubborn Henry can get."

"That's not the Henry I know."

Tally looked at him. "Same basic personality. This one just has a bit of a chip on his shoulder." She paused, glancing away for a moment, "Can't say I blame him."

"Why's that?"

"Guess it wasn't all bad news though," Tally mumbled, ignoring Takato's question.

From the adjacent "office" a girl entered the room. Takato was not sure whether to call her Alice or Mari. They were both more comfortable with Alice; she didn't want to acknowledge the other name and he still knew his Odaiba ally as Mari. Problem was that she clearly was not Alice McCoy.

"Hey, your grandfather's in town," Tally said jokingly to the girl.

"Dolphin?" she replied.

"He and Janyuu are at some sort of convention. It would be a great stroke of luck if we ever got a hold of them."

"What's stopping us?"

"Henry."

The girl fell silent, shaking her head. Tally stood up and headed into the office, shutting the door behind her. Takato heard her say "Good news and bad news Riley..." before the door blocked the rest of the conversation.

"Henry," the girl said as she took Tally's spot on the couch. She shook her head. "Once too young to understand immaturity. Now he's too old to be mature."

Takato sat on the other end of the couch, ignoring her words. Despite only knowing her for two days her incomprehensible rhetoric no longer fazed him. But he looked at her and for a moment did not see a lost soul trying to be enigmatic. She was concerned: her dual-colored eyes stared at the wall and when she blinked, he half-expected to see a tear trickle down her pale cheek. None did, but he still felt sympathy for her.

"You and Henry go way back, don't you?" he asked. After no initial reaction, she finally condeded a nod. Takato continued, "I saw your names carved on the side of one of our cabins in the Digital World. I forgot how old Izzy said you were, but..."

"I was four," she answered abruptly, "He was six. Henry had just learned how to write his name. Mine as well. I had already known, of course, but for some reason I was so enamored that he was writing my name on the wall."

Takato sighed. It was unavoidable now. They were going to have to get it over with.

"You are Mari Izumi," he stated. She looked at him. "There's no sense in either of us denying it."

"What does that mean?" she replied.

"I just think it's silly to go by another name when everybody knows who you really are." Takato also wanted to get it over with and start calling her by her real name. After spending two years as Koji and being misled, even unintentionally, by the girl in Odaiba, he wanted to set the records straight. But he did not voice that point.

"I'm not like you," she said defiantly, "There is only one Takato. There is only one Koji. But who knows how many Maris or Alices exist?"

"You are Mari Izumi," he said, louder. "Nobody else could have done what you have. Who else could invent bio-merging?"

"It was merely a realization of already-existing theories. I just made the sacrifices necessary to make it happen."

"Would Alice McCoy really be capable of that?"

The only answer she had was to stare at him. Her mouth fell open slightly.

"Do your father proud. Be Mari. If not for him, then for Henry. Even for that other Mari back in Odaiba. If you accept who you are, then maybe she'll find out who she is."

She faced the wall again. "What if I need to use an alias again?" she asked.

"We're still a long way away from that."

"I am Mari Izumi," she whispered.

Takato smiled at Mari. "Was that really so difficult?"

* * *

Henry lingered behind as Kazu and Rika led the way to the park. Every so often Kazu turned around to make sure Henry wasn't bailing out. Kazu wasn't too worried, but he wasn't taking any chances. They needed to be together.

"So what is this that you couldn't tell me over the phone?" Rika asked in that impatient, demanding tone that had been with her since Kazu had known her.

Not looking her in the eye, he responded frankly, but with all seriousness: "You need to see this yourself."

Rika suddenly stepped forward and forced her glare into Kazu's. It was locked on target, and Kazu was unable to escape. "Don't do this to me. You know when you say that it makes me consider all sorts of nightmarish possibilities."

Kazu backed away slightly. Grimacing, he nodded. "Yeah, keep those in mind. You're better prepared this way." He sidestepped her and continued down the street.

"Are you just doing this to make sure you get me here?" he heard her say, "What, do you think if it was something serious I wouldn't show up if you told me on the phone?"

"I wouldn't put it past you," Henry's words forced Kazu to stop and frown. Turning around, Kazu knew what he would see- the same glare Rika had just used on him was now on Henry point-blank and twice as intense.

"I don't run away from my problems," she stated firmly.

Henry didn't budge; his reply was just as sharp: "No- you run away from mine."

"Hey!" Kazu shouted. His rare moment of anger stole their attention. Kazu was also surprised at his outburst but he refused to let their dispute ruin his hopes. "Look, this is a really serious situation and if we're going to have any chance of getting past it, us three are going to need to stick together." He marched towards them. "So you two are going to have to get along, whether you like it or not. I don't care what happened between you two. Settle it on your own time. You two made your bed, now you've gotta sleep in it."

He turned around and took two steps before almost laughing at his own stupidity. Rather than turn around and face the two angry glares that he knew were on him, he held up a hand. "Sorry. Bad choice of words."

The three continued in silence. The park was not quite deserted, but the few children braving the March weather were not paying any attention as Henry pointed at a series of bushes.

"There. I found it yesterday."

"What is it?" Rika asked.

Kazu bowed his head and said nothing. Rika took the hint and stepped forward cautiously. As she investigated, Kazu glanced at Henry, solemnly watching Rika.

"Do you want to catch her, or should I?" Kazu whispered.

Rika pulled back one of the bushes. Kazu could not get a good look, but he already knew about the puddle of red Rika was staring at. The trace amount of chaos he did see told him that it had grown since the last time he and Henry had visited.

Rika said nothing at first. She quietly turned around, letting the bush swing back into place. Silently, she stared at Henry, waiting for an explanation. None came.

"How?" she finally asked.

Henry said nothing. Kazu shrugged.

She stepped forward, "How did this happen?!"

"Don't know," Henry replied, his eyes fixed on his shoes, "It just did."

"Henry found it yesterday," Kazu added, "I called right after he called me."

"This can't be happening," Rika stammered, "What are we supposed to do?"

"We're still working on that. That's why we wanted you here."

Rika held a hand to her face and bent down. "How... you two are acting like this is no big deal. If we don't do something, it's over. Don't you understand that?"

Kazu looked at Henry, who kept his head down, unmoved by her reaction. Though not to Rika's extent, both had already had their fits of emotion. All that was left was a feeling of futility, coupled with an obligation to see every step taken to prevent the coming disaster.

He placed a hand on Rika's back. Kazu fully expected her to turn around and slap him, but anything was better than the rut she was in.

"We'll figure something out," he said. Again- anything to revive her spirit.

Rika turned around and clutched him, her chin falling on his shoulder. Kazu closed his eyes and wrapped her arms around her.

"I'm... scared," she whispered.

He replied only by stroking her back, her hair- whatever would calm her down. It wasn't a situation either were used to; Kazu only hoped it would end quickly. A minute of silence passed before Kazu opened his eyes. He was still holding Rika, hoping to pull her from whatever brink she was approaching. He looked at Henry, who was silently watching the two with a displeased frown. Henry walked up to them.

"So what do we do now?" Henry asked.

Once more, Kazu looked at Rika, still hopelessly lost.

He turned to Henry and replied, "Know any good bars around here?"

* * *

As Riley read another "can't help, good luck" e-mail, Tally leaned against the wall wondering if Riley planned on standing in the next 48 hours.

"Who's that one from?" Tally asked.

"Daisy," Riley said, scratching the name off a post-it note on one of the monitors. Only "Dolphin" and "Tao" remained.

"How much are you telling them?"

"Everything. About Takato too. They all say they don't think it's possible or they don't want to get involved again." Riley turned to Tally; her tired red eyes finally moving away from the screen. "That or they don't want to get caught. I wouldn't put it past Yasuo to start watching what they get."

"I hope you're not using our IP. If he can see that e-mail, we don't want him tracing it back here."

"I'm using a web-based provider."

Tally smiled. "Ten years of programming have made you one of the best hackers in the world and you're still using Hotmail."

"Whatever it takes to give him some hope when he gets home," Riley said, turning back to the screen.

"First we have to get him home. Any luck on that front?"

Riley's head drooped. "Yamaki has it encypted a lot more than I thought. He knows I'm coming. I can still get messages through, but I don't know if I'll be able to upload or download anybody."

Tally stepped forward and put a hand on Riley's shoulder. She knew how important this was to her. Tally also knew that Riley was not used to failure, and the string of misses that had built up in the last few hours was providing further motivation. But Tally's concern was shifting from the mission to her friend.

"Maybe you should take a break. You've been sitting here for five hours."

"Let me try one more set of codes." Riley's hand reached for the mouse, but Tally grabbed it.

"Sorry, but I'm getting worried. You're pushing yourself way too hard." Tally pulled Riley out of the chair, "Admit it- we need help. So let's sit down in the kitchen and figure out how to get Rob and Janyuu."

As they opened the door to the kitchen, they immediately drew the attention of Takato and Mari. The "kids" started asking a litany of questions about their progress and how close they were. Neither Riley nor Tally said anything, but led them into the kitchen. Riley sat; Takato and Mari did as well. Tally started pouring some tea for the group.

"Yamaki was ready for us," Riley stated in a monotone.

"So what, you can't get back in?" Takato asked. Tally continued to pour tea silently; this conversation had been long overdue, but it was bound to be unpleasant.

"I'm sure if I sit there for another six hours, I'll figure it out. But that's just getting in. Saving your world?" Riley trailed off.

Tally set a tray of cups on the table and sat next to Riley. "We need a more in-depth look at your world in order to see if anything's possible. In order to do that..."

"We need Dolphin and Tao," Mari finished. Tally nodded.

"Any responses?" Takato asked.

Riley stared at her tea, stirring it idly. "Nobody's willing to help. I have a feeling Yasuo's been keeping tabs on them as well. That means e-mailing Janyuu isn't a good idea."

"And I'm sure Henry's screening his calls now," Tally muttered.

Takato clanged his cup back on the saucer, startling the women. "Well, we've got to do something."

"There is not much we can do, barring a personal visit," Mari said, calmly taking a sip of tea.

Tally shook her head. "I don't know. Going to Shinjuku in person? When Yasuo's goons are out looking for us? And they probably have my car's license plate number?"

"Take a train," Riley said suddenly. Everybody looked at her, "Get off a stop or two before Shinjuku and walk the rest of the way. You'll be fine."

"What do you mean 'you'? You're not coming with us?"

"I have to keep working on breaking Yamaki's encryption. Take Mari with you."

All eyes turned to Mari. Takato smiled. "Yeah, you can talk to Henry! You're friends with him."

"I haven't spoken to Henry in a decade. I doubt he even remembers me," Mari replied.

"Well at least distract him so I can get in and talk to Janyuu. I'm sure if I just talk to him one-on-one we'll get his help," Tally said.

Mari said nothing for a while. She was in her usual "pondering" trance that she seemed to occupy most of the time. Finally, she turned to Tally and said, "Just make sure to get them."

* * *

Kazu held up his dish of sake: "To the end of the world. Cheers!"

"I don't understand how you two can be so calm about this," Rika muttered, then quickly swallowed her drink. Although she did not consider alcohol the ideal solution to the problem, she had to admit that it was keeping her from another breakdown.

"It's a strange feeling of hopelessness and resignation," Henry said, staring at the ceiling, "I'm sure it'll kick in for you soon."

"Speak for yourself, Henry. Do you honestly think it's just going to be over without a fight?" Kazu said, smiling as he refilled Rika's cup.

"We don't have much to fight with."

"Something will change that."

Rika took another drink. "Like what? Henry's right. We don't have our Digimon and Hypnos is long gone. Short of divine intervention I don't see any way to stop it."

Kazu smiled. "Nice to see you two agree on something." He waited for Rika to roll her eyes before continuing, "But you say divine intervention as if it isn't possible."

She glared back, a little angry. "Is that our plan? Sit back and wait for some stroke of good fortune to save our butts?"

"Our plan is to do whatever is in our power to increase our chances," Henry said quietly. Rika turned to him. She was surprised that Kazu was doing most of the talking between the two. Usually Henry was the one playing leader in these situations. That was one of his better attributes. It was also why she despised him.

"There's still stuff we can do," Henry explained, "Like making sure the right people know. We need to get this city evacuated, and if we do it now it won't be as chaotic as when that thing really heats up. And we need to try to find whoever we can. Yamaki... Dolphin... hell we could try to get a hold of Takato again."

Rika shook her head. She found it hard to believe that contacting Takato or anyone in Hypnos was a realistic goal. Besides the unaddressed, unsigned letter that had reached Henry's doorstop three years ago, there was nothing to suggest that Hypnos was still around in any form. And as all previous attempts to contact Takato had failed, D-Reaper was certain to interfere with that further.

Whatever expression ended up on Rika's face as she thought that forced Henry to nod. "I know that's a long shot but we have to try all avenues here. Anything to have a chance."

"Even with all that, it still comes down to divine intervention," Rika reiterated.

"Hey, it beats doing nothing," Kazu said, "Whatever the case, we need to stick together. If... no, _when_ something happens, I have a feeling we'll need to be around to help out."

"So where the heck's Kenta?" Rika said, before turning to Henry, "And Suzy?"

Henry looked down at his drink. "I don't want Sue to get involved. Not unless we need her."

"And I haven't been able to get a hold of Kenta," Kazu said, a little annoyed, "Ever since he got into Waseda, we kinda lost track of him. He got himself a real life."

Rika shook her head. "Lovely. So it's just us three then."

Kazu reached across the table and patted her hand. "Something will happen, Rika. There's no way it's ending like this. Stick with us and we'll be alright."

She did not move her hand. Neither did he. Not even as Henry silently laid his over them.

* * *

Tally peered in every direction several times as she stepped onto the balcony of the Wongs' apartment building. Mari calmly walked to their door.

"If we haven't been spotted yet, we won't be," she said as she stared at the doorknocker.

Tally joined her. "Let's hope Janyuu's home." They had waited until later at night, but had no way of knowing. "You know the plan, right?"

"I'll keep Henry occupied. Just get those two to help."

With a sly smile, Tally nudged Mari's shoulder. "Ready to pull out those feminine guiles?"

"You're thinking of Alice," Mari said, unmoved.

Tally chuckled as she knocked on the door. "If Henry answers, it's all you."

Unfortunately, Henry answered. And the first thing he did was give Tally a suspicious look.

"Hello Henry," Mari uttered, unemotional.

Henry turned to Mari and stared for some time, occasionally leaning forward or lifting an eyebrow. Neither Tally nor Mari interrupted; they wanted to see if he'd figure it out.

He leaned back and looked her over again. "Have we met?"

Mari glanced once at Tally before nodding.

Henry's eyes narrowed. As he took a step forward, Mari flinched, leaning back momentarily.

"Mari?" he whispered.

Her eyes widened. "You remember?"

Slowly, his mouth formed a smile. "Well I'll be." He folded his arms. "What are you doing here?"

After another uncertain glance at Tally, Mari replied, "Just stopping by. We were in the neighborhood and felt like visiting."

That unfortunately drew Henry's attention to Tally. "So who's this?" he asked Mari.

As Mari struggled to find a good answer Tally bowed and smiled. "Rena Yagami. I've been keeping an eye on Mari for awhile."

She cheated and looked up to make sure Henry was buying it. He was staring back and said nothing for a few moments. But then he turned back to Mari and said, "I'm sorry. Come on in. Alice McCoy is here too."

"Oh. Lovely," Mari deadpanned. She knew Rob was there, but this was the first time the name of the third "tech tot" came up.

As they entered, Tally caught sight of Janyuu in the living room. He had just noticed her and opened his mouth.

"Hi!" she interrupted with an artificially bright smile and approached him, "Rena Yagami."

Janyuu's mouth remained open, but his inarticulate stammering was not about to give away her identity.

"Where's the bathroom?" Tally asked. As Janyuu pointed it out, Tally saw that Mari and Alice were distracting Henry. She seized the opportunity and whispered: "We need to talk."

Janyuu looked over Tally's shoulder. Alice was giving Mari a very unappreciated hug.

"Let's go in the bedroom."

Mari caught Tally escaping with the target out of the corner of her eye. The first phase was a success. Now she just had to keep Henry occupied.

Fortunately, Alice was running interference just as effectively as Mari: "This is so cool! We're all back together again."

"Yeah," Henry said, joining Alice on the living room couch as Mari occupied a nearby chair, "Where'd Rena go?"

"Bathroom," Mari replied instantly.

Alice shook her head, that smile ever-present. "Wow. It has been forever, Mari. I tried to get a hold of you when you, uh... got back, but I guess you changed your e-mail or something."

Henry turned to Alice. "I was planning to dance around that," he said, somewhat stern.

Taking the hint, Alice looked up, a little sheepish, but still smiling. "Oh. Sorry Mari. I guess that's probably a touchy subject."

"Somewhat," Mari replied. Her mysterious "disappearance" was well known throughout her parents' circle of friends, as was her equally strange reappearance years later. She had left to help in the MAXIS, and remained underground afterwards out of preference. It wasn't until that imposter assumed her name that she had cared what everybody believed. Whatever the case, everyone had assumed that her absence carried serious emotional baggage; therefore Mari never had to talk about it.

"So what have you been up to?" Henry asked. He chuckled and added, "Or do I want to know?"

"You probably don't." She was serious.

Alice chirped, "Oh, come on! It's been so long. I'm dying to know!"

"I've spent the last few years trying to make my life as normal as I care for it to be." Mari did her best not to smile as she saw the ensuing blank stares from Henry and Alice. The truth was certainly powerful.

"Well... good luck with that," Alice said, trying to be polite.

Henry didn't bother. He looked over his shoulder at the bathroom door.

Mari quickly stole back his attention. "How about you, Henry?"

As he hesitantly began answering, Mari stared him in the eyes, ready to ask any follow-up question that would prolong the conversation. But as unskilled as she was to the art of chatting, she certainly found it easy enough. She wanted to know what Henry was doing anyway.

"...And so far we have had no luck getting back into the MAXIS. That's why we need your help." After the long explanation, Tally stopped to catch her breath. Silently, she cursed her luck: Rob wasn't there so she would have to explain the whole thing again.

Janyuu fell back into a chair. "So you're telling me that Takato is here in this world?" Tally nodded. "That's impossible."

"Tell that to him," she replied with an exasperated smile, "But the point is that he is here, and he doesn't want to be. So we need you to help us figure out how to get him back in. And for extra credit, stop D-Reaper from destroying the place."

"Why does Takato want to go back in if he can't stop it from being deleted?"

Tally shrugged. "It's Takato. Do you have to ask? We gave up trying to talk him out of it."

"It's suicide. Going back in is playing right into Yasuo's hands."

"Janyuu, he belongs there. That's his home. And his friends are in trouble. He doesn't want to abandon them. Especially since this whole thing is his fault."

Janyuu rubbed his face, shaking his head the whole time. "I don't know. I promised myself I wouldn't get involved with this again. And while I understand why Takato wants to go in, I'm not going to break my promise just to see him get killed."

"What about your family in there? Don't you care about them?"

"I've cared about them far too much in the last few years. I need to think about my real family now."

It was a point Tally couldn't argue against. In hindsight, it was the reason she had not approved of Janyuu's immersion into the MAXIS. Not because he had left his family behind. Tally had too. But her penance was missing Takuya, so she had tried to visit him as often as she could. On the other hand, Janyuu had no reason to miss his family; he had a simulation of them. While he had returned to the real world on occasion, it had not been often enough in her opinion.

Apparently, that had gotten through to Janyuu, albeit at the worst possible time: "It just seems so selfish now. Sometimes I feel like the worst father in the world."

Tally stifled a chuckle as she thought of her husband. He too was more devoted to his work than his family. And Tally had always been quick to scold him about it. She could sympathize with his wife and children. And here she was convincing Janyuu to betray them once more in honor of TK's cause.

"We're not asking you to go back in. I don't want to put you in that position again."

"Nobody did last time," Janyuu fired back, "I chose to go in. That's the problem."

"Please. All we need is your guidance. And Rob's if possible. You helped create the system. There has to be something you can do."

After some contemplation, he made his offer. "Two conditions: one is that I need Henry's approval. I hurt him the most by going in. After everything that happened in the MAXIS, our relationship has been a little weird, as you could probably imagine. I don't want to alienate him again."

Tally nodded in understanding. She also mentally swore.

"And second?" she asked, dreading the next stipulation.

"We go for broke. I'm not helping Takato get back in unless we give him a fighting chance against D-Reaper."

Tally smiled, more out of relief than heroic determination. Still, there was still the task of converting Henry.

* * *

Mari could not believe it. After everything, Henry had turned out normal. She had expected it out of Alice, but never imagined that all the conspiring forces in the world had negated each other and left Henry with a typical suburban life.

That wasn't entirely good news. His interest in computer programming never became a radical obsession- only a passing hobby. But that had been the reason she liked him so much. She did not want him developing a well-rounded set of skills. She did not want to be better at him in that field. He was still tinkering around with code, but had no interest in becoming one of the elite programmers in the world, a position she had always felt was his for the taking.

"Sorry to hear you haven't been as involved with computers," she admitted, "You were always really good at that."

Henry shook his head, and looked once more over his shoulder. "I don't know. Part of it was because of what happened with Dad."

He had already gone over that whole story, and while it was a little saddening to hear Henry's side, she knew she had to mitigate the situation.

"You shouldn't be so hard on him. They were trying something remarkable. It could have changed the world had it panned out."

Henry folded his arms. "Doesn't change the fact that..." Suddenly he broke off, eyes widening. He leaned forward. "...wait, were you involved with all of that?"

Mari nodded.

"Damn," Henry muttered, falling back into the couch, "Whatever you were doing, it wasn't going to change anything. It wasn't going to bring them back. They're gone, and there's no sense trying to change that."

"Bring what back?" Alice asked, once again having missed the train.

"Digimon," Henry answered, "From what I gathered, it was some experiment that would somehow bring Digimon back into the real world. I don't know how any of them thought they had any chance of succeeding."

"Perhaps. But when you lose something dear to you, you're prone to do strange things if there's a slight chance of getting them back." Quickly, Mari added, "I don't know if you've experienced that or not."

"I lost my father once."

"So did I," she replied immediately, "Only mine's not coming back."

Henry opened his mouth, but didn't say anything. Finally, he closed his eyes, his head dropping slightly. "Sorry."

"I did it for my father. And like it or not, that's why your Dad did it as well," Mari turned to Alice and added "And your grandfather."

"That's why you're here, isn't it?" Henry asked, not lifting his head.

Mari considered lying, but since it was coming out anyway, she figured it should be revealed naturally. "Yes."

"Then I suppose you know some creep named Takato or a woman named Tally Onodera?"

"Takato is a long story. He is not supposed to be here and we need your father's help to send him back home."

Henry looked her in the eye. "That's all?"

"That's all. Takato's home is also on the verge of destruction and anything your father could contribute to prevent that would be helpful. But one thing at a time."

"And Tally?"

Mari bowed her head. "You mean Rena?"

In an instant, Henry jumped off the couch and bolted for the bedroom. Mari followed. "Wait... Henry..." she pleaded. Janyuu and Tally stopped him in the hallway.

"Dad, what does she want you to do?" Henry asked, glaring at Tally.

Janyuu placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "She wants me to help preserve part of the old project. It will only take a couple days. And I'm not going anywhere this time."

Henry shook his head. "I thought you said this was all over. Why is it all coming back all of a sudden?"

Tally and Mari kept their distance, but watched eagerly as Janyuu tried to explain. "I don't know. Whatever it is, they need my help."

"But Dad..."

"But I'm not doing anything unless it's all right with you."

Henry looked up at his father's straight face. "Dad, is this really going to accomplish anything?"

"Probably not. Although it would be a keepsake of 30 years of research."

Henry looked over at Mari, who nervously awaited his answer. She mouthed, "Please."

She didn't expect much. From what she had gathered from their conversation, he had every reason to say no. She wouldn't even have blamed him. But the smile that appeared on Henry's face surprised her.

"Okay. We'll call it a retirement gift," he said, that same pesky smile appearing on Janyuu's face as well.

As much of a relief as it was, that wasn't what Mari was feeling as father and son hugged; instead, she felt a sense of accomplishment beyond a successful mission. She had gotten through to him. Somehow, in that mess of a conversation, he had seen things differently. What it was or how it happened didn't matter.

Tally put a hand on Mari's shoulder. They still had a long way to go. But they had already achieved their first miracle. It wasn't much, and there was no telling if Janyuu's expertise would help. But one of the researchers was on board, with Henry's blessing. That was a start.

**To Be Continued in "Stage Two- Ego"**

**Author's Notes  
**For the uninitiated (and now completely clueless): this is a sequel. If you hadn't read Level 2, don't even bother. In fact, if you haven't read Level 1 yet, that would be a good idea too. For everybody who has read Level 2: you certainly are gluttons for punishment. Of course, just as the first two had different styles, this is going to head in yet another direction (note that all three stories are listed as having different secondary genres). I can't guarantee a reduction of angst (not with D-Reaper around), but at least you should be well-aware of what's going on (especially after the infornography feast in the Level 2 finale). The mind-screwing elements have once against switched locations- from the situation to the setting to the characters.

And the first occurrence of this is with Henry and Rika. Why do I get the feeling that after everything that went on with Tally, Mari, and Janyuu, most of you are thinking "what happened with Henry and Rika?!" Good question. I'm interesting in finding out myself. It's never explained, but there's enough clues that you could draw your own conclusions from. And that is what you'll have to do, since I'm not going to waste time delving into it.

I mentioned in a few e-mails last year that people should keep an eye on Tally and Kazu in this. The attitudes they carry through this are something else, especially when you look into their pasts. Tally's has been made pretty apparent to those who have been paying attention and you can imagine what Kazu's been through losing Takato, Rika and Kenta in different ways. Speaking of Kenta- Waseda University is another prestigious university in Tokyo. In other words, it's like Toudai without the cliché.

The MAXIS-world Henry (aka "our" Henry and "good" Henry) called Suzy "Sue." Refer to Level 2: Stage 5.

Rena Yagami seems to be Tally's go-to avatar and alias. It's a reference to Alice in Cyberland, yet another Chiaki Konaka series with an Alice and a Juri. The two differences between it and Lain/Tamers are that Rena's there instead of Reika, and Juri's last name is Yagami instead of Kato. This should also remove any doubt about who those weird chatters were in Level 1: Stage 4, if you hadn't figured it out already.

This ends Level 3: Stage 1 of The Connection.


	2. Ego

_**Level 3: Experiments**  
_  
**Stage Two- Ego **

The ceaseless chatter from another room woke Takato up much earlier than he wanted. He was groggy, but whatever time it was, chatter meant activity and that meant the chance for progress. He rolled out of bed and readied his eyes for the influx of light that would enter when he opened the door. It blinded him anyway. Coupled with the fact that he was only half-awake, he was pretty disoriented as he stumbled into the office.

"What time is it?" he asked whoever was in there. Of course, he knew who it would be.

"Six," Riley answered, "A bit early for you, isn't it? Tally and Mari are still asleep." She made no mention of her own lack of sleep, evidenced by her reddened eyes and disheveled hair.

Takato heard a new, but familiar voice behind Riley. "Unbelievable..." His eyes came into focus on a pair of middle-aged men. The one who had spoken adjusted his glasses and walked up to Takato. "Nice to see you again Takato."

"Thanks for helping us Rob," Takato replied, still getting his bearings together. He had known Janyuu would be coming, but wasn't expecting Rob to show- or for them to be there that early in the morning.

Janyuu approached him next, leaning over in a silent awe and lifting Takato's chin up. "This is just incredible," Janyuu murmured, "I don't know what to say."

"How about 'I'm sorry'?" Takato muttered, a little louder than he had intended.

"I..." Janyuu replied in confusion. As the old researcher's head started to hang and he eyed the floor, Takato knew Janyuu was figuring it out. "I guess we do owe you an apology."

Rob stepped in. "I hope you understand that any lies we may have told you were purely for your protection. I mean the truth would have been... devastating." After staring at Takato for a moment, he added, "Like it is for you now."

"Hearing it from Yasuo first didn't help matters much," Riley said.

"Just send me home," Takato snapped back, "I'm sick of this."

Janyuu shook his head. "Well, like I told Tally, I'm not going to help you get back unless there's some way to stop D-Reaper."

"So if there isn't a way you'd keep me here and just let your son die?"

"Takato, this isn't helping me," Riley reprimanded him, "We need to find a way in before we explore any of our options. I don't need to hear you talk about dying because your friends are."

"No, he's right." Janyuu said, drawing surprised looks from Rob and Riley, "I've neglected my family in there as much as my family here."

"That's why we need to stop D-Reaper," Rob said, "Takato, you said you found a way into our Digital World?"

"Yeah," Takato replied, "And don't ask me how. I'm sick of that question."

"I don't care how. As long as it's true we still have a chance."

* * *

_TO: ichijouji at kenkeishicho.metro.tokyo.jp  
__FROM: rkangel  
You have Michi? _

This was getting ridiculous. Ken was already fed up with the secrets. Whatever was going on between Yasuo and Riley, both were using Ken while keeping him oblivious to the details. He had already figured out that it had some connection to the Chosen: otherwise there would be no reason to keep Ken out of the loop. But what was it that everybody knew that Ken could not?

"Ken! Breakfast!" his wife shouted, climbing the stairs as Ken stared at the screen in his home office.

"I'm coming," he mumbled, not moving.

Yolei didn't wait for him. She immediately noticed the troubled look on his face. "What are you doing? Checking your e-mail?"

"Uh huh."

She read Riley's e-mail and turned to Ken with a puzzled look. "Who's that from?"

"Riley. She asked about Koji a couple days ago."

Yolei put her hands on her hips. "Huh. She's a nice woman but she can't stop asking for trouble. I just hope she never gets it." Shaking her head, she added, "So what are you going to say to her?"

"I'll tell her we have Michi, I guess."

"That's it?"

"Doesn't sound like she wants to say much about all this. I guess I can ask but I don't expect to get many answers."

"Try it. Couldn't hurt."

'Not from this computer at least,' Ken thought, switching out of his work e-mail and typing a reply, affirming that they were looking after Michi but adding questions about what was going on and how the Chosen were involved with all of it.

Yolei set a hand on his shoulder. "Did you get anything out of Yasuo when you talked to him?"

Ken sent the reply, pushed his chair back and stood. As he and Yolei walked downstairs, he replied, "I overheard him talking about something called D-Reaper. I don't know if that has anything to do with this, but it seemed like it could."

"D-Reaper... I know I've heard of that somewhere."

"Me too. That's why I think there could be a link between it and Koji."

Downstairs, the inviting smell of breakfast offered some comfort. Ken tried to relax and enjoy the meal, but as he started eating he noticed Michi was not at the table.

"Where's Michi?" he asked Chiaki

Chiaki didn't bother to swallow his food. "Still sleeping, I guess."

"Has she said anything to you about what's going on?

Shaking his head, Chiaki washed it down with some tea and replied. "Nope. I don't know what happened but whatever Koji was doing, it really screwed her up. I mean, I told her that they caught him and she barely reacted."

"I don't know if you should have told her that. It's not a big deal, but we need to be careful what we say to her. We need to get her as far away from this as possible."

Yolei nodded. "You shouldn't get too involved with this either Chiaki. We don't know what's going on right now. I'm nervous enough about Ken investigating this. But I don't want you to talk about this with Michi. Talk about other stuff. Please."

Chiaki cracked a smile. "She doesn't want to talk. Period. I don't know what's wrong with her. I won't talk about it if you don't want, but I just wish we could help somehow."

"We are helping. We're keeping her out of this mess. The sooner we can get her back to New York the better." Adding a sigh, Yolei said, "As for her mental state, she'll have to pull herself out of this on her own. All we can do is keep her safe while she does."

* * *

While Janyuu and Riley tore through data on their terminals, Rob sat back, watching them. Each pursued a different angle to get around Yamaki's defenses. But Rob was busy brainstorming more logistical issues in his head. The last one had been on his mind for a few minutes before posing it to the other two. 

"Besides Takato, is anybody thinking of actually going in there?"

"Somebody needs to go in to help them," Riley answered, "I was planning on it."

"How can we ensure that you get out safely? We're working on opening a temporary gate. I don't want you to get trapped in there."

It took a moment, but Riley stopped. She turned to Rob, eyes wide, trying to frame a response. She eventually came up with one: "Please work on that."

"Nice you see you haven't completely lost it," Janyuu cracked.

"I just don't want to have to go through this again," Riley said, turning back to the computer.

"I don't suppose Takato can get back here once he goes in?"

"Nope," Rob answered, "Once he's back inside, he's basically reset himself. And something created in the MAXIS stays in the MAXIS. Which is why I'm so interested in his entry to the Digital World."

Neither responded. They were back at work. Rob sighed and approached his designated terminal. It was a difficult process because they really had no idea how close they were to breaking through. There were only a finite number of security measures available; with as much inside information as the three had, they were bound to crack them eventually. It was just a matter of when, and how long they could afford to spend on this step.

The next forty-five minutes passed quickly as the three silently immersed themselves in their work. Rob was busy trying to step back and view the entire MAXIS mainframe, trying to identify weaknesses based on other MAXIS servers on the system. Riley was working on the inside, using what little access they had to scope out the abandoned Hypnos program. Janyuu was attacking head on. Neither Rob nor Riley noticed when he leaned back- but they almost jumped out of their seats when Janyuu asked, "Riley, can you attempt to log on to your Hypnos account from there?

"Why?" she asked, eager.

"Just trying something..."

Riley's breath shortened as she administered the simple task of a few keystrokes. "Done," she concluded, adding a jab at the Enter key for emphasis.

"And?" Rob asked.

Riley's face lit up as the Hypnos control panel appeared on the screen. "I'm in," she said, marveling at the realm of options before her.

"And in five seconds you'll have access to the gate. Once it's open on your side, we can open it from ours," Janyuu added as he entered a few commands on his terminal.

"They must not be using Hypnos as a connector. It's untouched."

Rob stood and leaned in over Riley's shoulder. "Is that it? Are you in?"

"Tally!" Riley shouted.

Janyuu turned around. "All we need to do is keep Riley logged on. And I can make sure of that from here."

Riley remained fixated on her screen as she entered the area controlling the access terminal to the MAXIS. A double click from her mouse and they could upload into the system.

"Hold on Riley. Once you click that, the game's on. As soon as Yamaki checks the system he'd be onto us. Let's wait until we're ready to go."

"Right..." Riley let go of the mouse as Tally burst in.

"What happened?"

"We're in. Or at least we will be."

Janyuu explained, "I hacked into the Hypnos administration center. Since it's been down for years, it was left virtually unguarded. Riley has access from the inside. I have access from the outside. As long as we don't do anything blatant until we're ready to, we're set."

Tally's face formed a broad smile. "That's amazing. How did-"

She was interrupted by a buzz from Riley's computer. The four looked at it immediately, three of them suddenly apprehensive.

Not Riley; she snatched the mouse and fired up a program. "E-mail," she whispered.

After everyone sighed in relief, they noticed that Riley was still focused on the screen, zoned into her inbox as much as she had been concentrating on her hacking.

"What's wrong? You get e-mail all the time." Tally asked.

Riley darted her head at Tally. "Not from my main account."

"Oh." Tally immediately dropped the subject.

Janyuu stood. "Well, why don't you check that and get back to us? I think we've earned a break."

"Yeah," Rob replied with a nod, "Then we need to figure out what to do once you go in."

"I think I'm already there..." Riley mumbled.

Takato nodded in grim acceptance as he heard the news. That didn't bode well with the others. After hours of digging through files and programs, they had been hoping for him to be a little more excited.

"Aren't you happy? We can get you in," Tally said, setting an arm on his shoulder during lunch.

"It's a start," Takato replied, eyes on the ground. "But this is just what I have to do. The real goal is-"

"We're getting there," Janyuu blurted, "Don't worry. We'll find something."

"Have you been having any luck?" Mari asked.

"We've got a few theories we want to test out first. Hopefully Riley will finish that soon," Rob replied.

Nothing fazed Takato. As exciting as their achievement was, at the moment it merely carried him to certain death. Tally patted his shoulder. She knew he wasn't going to change his mind, but felt better knowing that Takato didn't want this to be a suicide mission.

"We'll make sure to have Dwayne say goodbye to your friends," she said, hoping to find some way to reassure him.

"All of them? What about Michi and Mari? I don't even know that they're okay."

Tally ignored Mari's scoff upon hearing the name. "Riley's trying to find out. Hopefully she'll have some good news to pass on."

Riley did not come out for another hour. The lunch break ended and Tally, Mari, Janyuu and Takato resigned to the living room. Rob had to leave to speak at his convention. Although Janyuu and Tally both had checked in on Riley, they had met with the same response: it was a matter of waiting.

When Riley finally exited, she refused to answer any of their questions. Tally and Takato followed her into the kitchen, where Riley grabbed her jacket.

"I'm going to Odaiba," Riley announced. Immediately, Tally and Takato's questions shifted to where and why.

Riley stared at Takato for a while before answering. "You don't need to know that right now."

"I do." Tally remained firm, forcing her hand on the door to the garage. "Riley, you know as well as I do that heading back into Tokyo is dangerous. I'm sure you've got a good reason. I need to know what it is."

Riley's stare shifted to Tally, but the younger woman won out. Riley answered: "I need to see the other Mari."

"What?" Takato and Tally both replied.

"I thought you said she wasn't important," added Tally.

"She is now," Riley said, momentarily glancing at Takato, "Let's just leave it at that."

"If you're going to see Mari, I'm going with," Takato said, "I need to thank her, and to tell her goodbye, and..."

"It's too dangerous," Riley blurted, before trying to justify her statement with some babble about spies in the area.

"Come on Riley, you're going. It can't be any more dangerous for me to go too. We're staying out of Shinjuku, right?"

"The train might have to go through it."

By this time, Janyuu and Mari had entered the kitchen, both already picking up on the conversation. "Take my car," Janyuu said, handing Riley a set of keys.

"What exactly makes this girl significant, especially right before we enter?" Mari asked.

Tally nodded. Mari's suggestion made sense. "Yeah, if nothing else you can just tell me and I'll talk to her."

"No..." Riley replied, looking around the room with a slight tic in her eye. "I need to take care of this now. Before we go in."

"Then I'm going too," Takato demanded again, "Please, Riley, I know her. We trust each other. And besides, this is my chance to say goodbye to somebody. I know there's no chance of finding Michi, but..."

"Michi's with Yolei. I just got an e-mail confirming that. She's fine."

"That's good. But I still want to say goodbye."

Janyuu stepped forward and set a hand on Takato's shoulder. "There's no reason not to, Riley. If you have my car you won't get noticed and I'm sure you know how to handle yourself in Odaiba. Takato and this girl seem to have some sort of friendship. We can afford to let him see her one last time. It's the least we can do before sending him home."

Riley looked around. She wasn't winning anybody over. Finally, she forced the door open.

"Come on Takato," she muttered, "But don't point any fingers at me when you find out who she is."

* * *

Silence filled the trip to Odaiba. That suited Takato fine, as there were no battles against Yasuo's forces or long-winded explanations to be found. Yet it concerned him that Riley could drive the entire time without uttering a word. Takato didn't bother to ask anything. Given the way she resisted giving any information out back home, he knew there would be no point. 

He had mixed feelings about seeing her again. She would be happy to see him, of course. And he would be happy to thank her and have a proper farewell. But the issue was bound to come up: she was not Mari Izumi. As much as it pained her to think otherwise, the truth would come out. Riley would make sure of it.

Riley remained silent until they reached the apartment door. As she knocked, she gave Takato a simple instruction: "Try not to make a scene."

Before he could ask her what she meant, a woman answered the door. By all logic, it was Mrs. Izumi, but Takato knew nothing was certain in that apartment.

"Good afternoon Aya," Riley said, with a curt nod.

Aya stepped back for a moment, frowning. "Riley?" Riley nodded again. "What are you doing here?"

"Mind if we come in? We need to talk."

Aya backed away and let the two into the apartment. Immediately, her pseudo-daughter greeted the visitors. "Mari" hesitated for one second as she and Takato stared at each other. Then she jumped into his arms.

"Koji! I was so worried. What happened?"

"Mari, you know him?" Aya asked.

A little bashful, Mari stepped back and turned to her mother, still keeping her arms around Takato. "Mom, this is Koji. We just met this week."

Takato's eyes fell to the ground. He was glad she was excited to see him, but he knew that wouldn't last. Not wanting to lie, he said, "Yeah. We had some things in common. Stuff we wanted to get out of our systems."

After glaring at Mari for a few moments Riley turned to Aya. "Aya, mind if we talk about..." she tilted her head at Mari.

"Right," Aya said, frowning.

As the elders went into the kitchen, Mari led Takato by the hand into the living room, asking "Koji" to fill her in on what happened. Takato went through almost every detail: his capture, his sessions with Yasuo and his escape were covered thoroughly. But when he got to the part about planning his trip home, he fell silent. He didn't know what to say to her without first revealing the truth behind their identities.

"I'm so relieved that you got out of there, Koji. I'm glad I could help you. I suppose you're going back home now, aren't you, Koji?"

"Yeah," Takato mumbled. Every time she called him 'Koji' it pained him. It was a reminder of his own false identity, making him remember that she too was not who she said she was.

"Well, good luck back in New York, Koji. Let's keep in touch somehow," she whispered, kissing him on the cheek.

"I'm not going back to New York," he said, "That's not where I'm from."

She turned very quiet, finally murmuring "I see."

"It's the place I lived before I went into the Digital World."

She leaned closer, her eyes lighting up. "Is that in Japan? Maybe we can..."

He ended that immediately. "It is in Japan, but... not this Japan." Rather than try to phrase it, he just admitted the facts: "I'm not from this world. And my name's not Koji."

"Yes it is," she responded immediately.

That caught him off guard. She continued to stare at him, nodding and repeating: "You are Koji. Please say you are Koji."

Her behavior was starting to bewilder Takato. It was one thing to stand behind her own false identity. But he could not understand why she wouldn't accept his confession.

Rather than let it get to him, Takato carried on. He placed his hand on hers, looked her in the eye, and slowly continued. "I can't lie about this any more. Especially not to you. I had to pretend to be someone else." She turned away. He put a hand on her chin and gently forced her eyes to meet his. "It was the only way I could stay here. But that's over now, and now you have to accept the truth. I am not Koji." She forced her eyes shut, clenched her teeth and turned away as he finished: "My real name is Takato Matsuki."

By now, tears were starting to fall. Takato really wanted to be sympathetic. He was prepared to deliver bad news. But _his_ identity wasn't it. This was supposed to be a formality- his way of coming clean before the truly devastating part.

She shook her head, and through exasperated breaths pleaded, "No. Please say you're Koji. Koji's real. Takato isn't."

Takato almost lashed out, but stood up and turned away before doing anything rash. He had heard far too much talk about Takato not being real. Hearing it from her appalled him. After taking a moment to calm down he said, "I wasn't trying to deceive you. If anyone had found out who I really was, I'd be in a lot of trouble. Now I am."

"Koji... no..."

Takato turned around. Now she was openly crying, her hands clenched in fists as she bent over, trying not to look at him. He was almost in disbelief at how hard she was taking this. Still, he figured he had to bite the bullet and get to the worst part.

"Hey... I know this is tough, but you have to learn the truth," he said, kneeling, trying to face her, "As bad as it is to hear that, that's not the worst of it."

"No... please," she managed to squeak out.

Takato couldn't help but get a little choked up, but he again forced her to look at him: "I'm sorry, but you are not Mari Izumi."

Although she closed her eyes again and turned away, she didn't seem to take the news any harder. Judging by the way she reacted to the first revelation, Takato had expected her to scream in agony and collapse after hearing the second. But her stream of tears just continued. Apparently this was the depth of her distress.

As he set a hand on her shoulder, she continued to plead: "Please. I need to be Mari. You need to be Koji. Please be Koji."

Now, in spite of himself, Takato was getting mad. Her fretting over not knowing who she was understandable. But she seemed more upset over who _he_ was. As much as he wanted to help her through this, that really bothered him.

"Look, I know it's hard, but you have to know. Maybe you can still try to be Mari. I... I can't tell you not to." Takato sighed. It would trouble him a little if she continued to live the lie, but he'd rather see her happy. But as for his identity: "But I can't be Koji any more. I need to be Takato. I want to be Takato."

"No..."

"Yes, I do." He tried not to sound stern, but had trouble controlling his frustration, "I am Takato Matsuki. And I'm going back to Takato Matsuki's world. I know I had some bad experiences, but I also had many good ones. I'll get to see my old friends and..."

He stopped. Her head was shaking even harder than before. She continued to look down, mumbling, "No, no... it was just an illusion. All just a bad dream..."

Takato backed away, as the combination of her ranting and the memories in his head collided. In the aftermath, he no longer saw Mari Izumi. He didn't see a girl pretending to be Mari Izumi. The crying woman before him was somebody else entirely.

Every question he had about her was suddenly answered. Her alleged trip to the Digital World. The instant connection between them. Why Riley didn't want him to go along. Takato had discovered her true identity, and his stomach began to churn.

"Oh God..."

* * *

Aya leaned against the counter and folded her arms. She glanced at the door to the living room before looking at Riley. 

"What do you want to know?" she asked.

Riley was a little shaken by how blunt Aya was. Normally friendly and selfless, the Aya that Riley remembered was nowhere in sight. Whatever was going on with the family, Aya's defenses were already up.

After giving up on finding a place to sit in the room, Riley tried to compose herself. She had worked nonstop to send Takato home. Now that that part of the job was over, she was starting to feel her body react to the lack of sleep. But this was just as essential.

But this was just as essential, and she had to be frank with Aya. "You know that girl's not your daughter. I want to know why you don't seem to care."

Aya's head drooped slightly, then she nodded. "You know in almost three years you're the first person to notice. How'd you find out?"

"First, the details. Why are you passing her off as Mari?"

"Can I trust you? This is something I've told Mari never to tell anybody."

"I know her story about the Digital World. I want to know how she ended up with you."

Aya's face turned white for a moment as she looked up at Riley. "How did you-"

"You first, Aya." Riley wasn't trying to be rude, but she needed to hear the right thing before giving away the key details.

Aya sighed and explained, "She came to me and said that she had been to the Digital World, and that Izzy helped her get back. Furthermore, she was convinced that she was Mari Izumi. Now, you're right: I could tell that she wasn't really Mari. But I had no idea who this girl was, or what Yasuo would do to her if he got word of her story."

"So you basically played along?"

"Mari had been gone for a few years by then and I was losing hope. I guess..." She bit her lip, but took a breath and finished, "I guess with Izzy and Mari gone I needed the company. Somebody to be with. Somebody to call me Mom.

"I told her not to say anything about her Digital World story, and she didn't. She had trouble keeping that bottled up, but I think it would have been tougher for her to live as somebody other than Mari. Say what you want about it, but it worked. She had a home and I had a daughter."

Riley shook her head. As much of a mess as it had created, she had to admit it made sense.

"Riley, I love her like she really was Mari. And I know what Yasuo would do if he ever discovered her story. I'm pretty sure he sent some goons to question her but she kept her mouth shut. Now I trust that you can keep quiet about this?"

Rather than respond, Riley went straight to her end of the bargain: "Her real name is Jeri Katou. Her story about the Digital World is true. The only question I have is how she became convinced that she was Mari Izumi."

"I'm not sure. I mean, she does resemble Mari."

Riley nodded. Their faces were similar and Mari's hair was only a shade redder. But that alone shouldn't have fooled anyone.

"But... Jeri was it?" Riley nodded again. "Jeri's behavior is completely unlike Mari. Mari definitely took after her father. Jeri..." Aya looked at the door to the living room. "...she's more like me. For a while I was afraid that it really was Mari and something happened to her."

Riley stifled a chuckle. "Well, something happened to her, but that shouldn't have an impact on who she thinks she is."

Aya didn't react. She continued to stare the door. "Riley..." she murmured, turning to face her old friend, "You just said that story about the Digital World is true?"

"Yes."

Aya took a step forward. "So Izzy is alive?"

Riley was surprised for a moment. She had figured Aya already knew, or that Jeri had told her about Takato's visit. It wasn't something Riley liked confirming herself, but she forced a nod and said, "Yeah. All of them are in the Digital World."

Aya's face lit up. "You mean it?" She sighed, her smile remaining. Aya took a deep breath and nodded. "That's so good to hear. You know, I had always hoped that that part of the story was true." She chuckled a bit.

Riley pointed to the living room. "The kid I'm here with was also in the Digital World. His name's Takato. He had been contacting each of the families to deliver the news. That's why he and Jeri know each other."

"Wow. Hate to think what would happen if Yasuo found out."

"He already knows." Riley paused as Aya let out a brief gasp. "Yasuo caught Takato somewhere in that process. Tally and I got him out of there, but Takato, and by extension Jeri, are in a lot of danger right now. That's why I'm here. If Yasuo finds out that Jeri's here, he would have no problem killing her on sight. We need to get her to safety."

"How are Jeri and Takato connected? Or is it just that they both got into the Digital World?" Aya asked; her curious tone suggested that she was beyond mere concern for Jeri and now taking an interest in the details.

Riley did not like divulging unnecessary information, but figured doing so was easier than dodging the question. Besides, Aya was harmless. "Are you familiar at all with the MAXIS program?"

Aya raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Yeah, I've read a few things about it. The program running all those long-term research projects? Let's see... the Medical Actuality... something something."

"Info Simulation," Riley answered, "Some of Izzy's friends used it for an experiment attempting to reintroduce Digimon to society."

"Ooh. How'd it turn out?"

"I'd prefer not to get into it. Point is..." Riley extended a hand to the living room, "Two of the simulated beings from it are in your living room."

Aya's smile fell instantly. She creaked the door open, catching a glimpse of the pair.

"Ineffable..." Aya whispered.

Riley stepped forward in order to see what the two were doing. Jeri was crying. Takato was trying to talk to her. Exactly what Riley had feared. She set a hand on Aya's shoulder and said, "Aya. Thank you for taking care of her for these years. But given the situation, I hope you understand that she's not safe here."

Aya nodded. "Will I ever see her again?"

"I don't know." At that, Aya turned to face Riley. "Depending on the circumstances, she may go with Takato back into the MAXIS. If she doesn't, I'll certainly try to send her back here."

"Thanks Riley," Aya said softly. She blinked and added, "Oh, and if you do see Mari, the real one I mean... could you please have her let me know she's all right?"

Riley let a chuckle escape from her nose. There was no level of futility in Aya's request; somehow, she knew Mari was involved with this.

"I will."

* * *

At the moment, Takato could barely stand to look at her. The best and worst memories of his previous life rolled into one sobbing mess on the couch. He wanted to deny it. He wanted to find some way to believe that it wasn't true. But that would have made him as bad as her. It was definitely her; the pieces fit too well. 

"You went in after me... didn't you?"

He didn't hear a response. It didn't matter; he already knew the answer. She wasn't supposed to have done it. She wasn't supposed to care that much.

Takato spun around. She hadn't moved from the couch. "Why'd you follow me?"

Still no answer. He stepped forward, putting his hands on her shoulders. Louder, he asked again: "Why, Jeri!"

"That was just a... just a..."

"No it wasn't! Why won't you accept that!"

"Please," she whimpered, "I don't want to be Jeri."

"You have to be," Takato said, a little calmer, "You don't have a choice." He let go of her shoulders. "Now tell me: why did you go in? You were fine back there. You had that other kid. You were happy."

"No... we broke up."

Takato's hand balled into a fist. "What? He... broke up with you?"

She nodded. For a brief moment, Takato's anger was directed at someone else. "Well when we get back I'm going to tell him..."

"No..."she sniffled, "Terry helped me escape."

"Whatever." Shaking his head, Takato turned around and took a few steps away. This was too much for him. It was too easy to believe that everybody had abandoned him. Why else would he have left for the Digital World to begin with? If he had known that his departure would lead to her jumping in right after him, perhaps he would have reconsidered. And after everything he had been through and all the trouble he was causing in his world, the last thing he needed was another reason to regret it all.

"What do you mean when we get back?"

Her question interrupted his thoughts. He turned back around. She still looked miserable, but at least had stopped crying. "We're going Jeri," he answered, "Today."

"What?"

"You're coming with us. We're going home."

She jumped off the couch. "But I don't want to leave here."

Takato remained firm. "Doesn't matter. You can't stay."

"But Koji..."

"TAKATO!"

Jeri stepped back and stood there, motionless for the longest time. Before Takato could consider regretting his outburst, Riley and Aya came in from the other room. Aya immediately wrapped her arms around Jeri.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Riley, meanwhile, turned to Takato. "Getting re-acquainted?" Takato couldn't tell if she was joking.

"Mom, do I really have to go?" Jeri asked.

Aya did not react. Finally, she separated herself from the embrace and looked Jeri in the eye. Sadly, she nodded. "Yes. You're not safe here."

"But..."

"I'm sorry, but they say you're in a lot of danger right now."

"I don't want to go back home," Jeri said, looking past her mother at Takato, who merely frowned and folded his arms.

"You're not necessarily going home, Jeri." Riley's comment drew looks from both Takato and Jeri. Takato for the first part. Jeri because she heard the name again. "Right now, that may put you into even more danger. We don't want that."

"No, she's going back with us," Takato insisted.

Riley turned to him, clearly unhappy with his "Takato, we can't jump to a decision here. Especially with her."

"I don't care. There's no point in me going back if she's still here."

Riley was quick to retort with a slightly raised voice. "There's no point in you going back period if there's nothing to go back to."

Takato refused to respond. He had already established why he was going, and there was no point in making the same argument to justify Jeri tagging along.

Aya knelt. She lowered her voice, but Takato and Riley could still hear it. "Listen, this is too important to take chances. I want you to go with them."

"But Mom, I'm not..." Jeri's desperation was setting in. She couldn't finish.

"That doesn't matter. Right now what matters is who everybody thinks you are. And if that's not Mari, you won't be safe here. Let's go in your room and talk about this."

Jeri nodded and they left Riley to continue berating Takato. "Look, I understand that you don't want to live at the expense of your friends. But we don't even know if we have a fighting chance yet. I'm not going to let you drag someone else down too. If Jeri wants to live with the knowledge that you and everybody else are dead, she can go ahead and try."

"So you agree that she should go back?" Takato replied.

"I didn't-" Riley stopped and looked away angrily. Takato resisted the urge to smirk; he could tell she saw things his way. "There are far too many factors to consider. Maybe it would be a good idea to have her along, maybe not. But she's not responsible for any of this. And I'm not forcing anyone to risk their lives."

Takato stood firm. "We're going to beat this. She's going to help us. Whether she wants to or not."

Riley shook her head and fell into the couch. Her head fell back against the top of the couch and she stared at the ceiling for a few moments. Then her eyes began to close as exhaustion began to set in. Takato knew she had gotten maybe one good night of sleep since learning about his capture. She was working far too hard to be capable of handling any additional stress. Takato was still adamant about Jeri going along, but in doing so he was causing nothing but problems for Riley.

"I'm sorry. You were right. I shouldn't have come along."

She didn't move. For a second, Takato thought she hadn't heard him. Then came the reply: "It's okay. Imagine the argument waiting for us back in Tachikawa. At least I know where you stand. Wait until Tally and Mari weigh in."

Takato let her have the last word. Jeri and Aya were returning anyway. Jeri had a fresh streak of tears on her face as she entered the room, carrying a small duffel bag with "Mari" written neatly on one end.

* * *

The group back in Tachikawa was surprised by the new addition to the team- more for the fact that Jeri and Aya had pulled it off than anything else. Riley was in no mood to elaborate on her lengthy explanation. As soon as she finished, she asked Tally if she had gotten a new e-mail. Riley was in the office the moment Tally nodded. 

Takato noticed that the genuine Mari said little. She remained on the couch as Tally, Janyuu and Rob marveled at the other "simulated being" that had broken through. But Mari did not move, and stared straight ahead at the dark television screen.

After the initial shock, Tally was the first to smile. "Leave it to Aya to have a surprise for us."

"So what do we do with her?"

"She's going in, too," Takato stated, drawing unhappy looks from Tally and Janyuu. He knew this argument was bound to happen again and was already prepared for it.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea," Tally said.

"Doesn't matter."

"Takato let's think about this. I understand your thought process, but your world may not be the safest place right now," Janyuu said.

Takato shook his head. They still lacked faith. "Look, we can beat this. I know we can."

"Well, Riley's seeing about that. But I don't know if having..." Tally stopped and looked at Jeri, who had been silent the whole time. Smiling, she said, "Jeri, why don't you have a seat in the living room? Let us know if you need anything."

"Okay," Jeri said. Takato barely heard her. She squeezed past Tally and Janyuu, and sat on the couch next to Mari. Mari did not acknowledge her.

"Like I was saying..." Tally lowered her voice, taking a second glance at Jeri to make sure she was out of earshot, "If we are going up against D-Reaper, call me crazy, but I don't think it's the worst idea in the world to keep Jeri away from that thing."

Slightly offended, Takato asked, "You don't trust us to keep her safe?"

Janyuu shook his head. "At this point, we can't rely on anything. It's great that we have a plan, but you know something will go wrong, and I don't want it to be at her expense."

"Besides, what does Jeri think?" Tally asked.

Takato pushed past Tally and headed into the living room. "I don't care what Jeri thinks," he said as he sat in the chair.

Tally followed immediately. "Listen, Takato, you can be as gung-ho as you want about this, but not everybody is willing to sacrifice their lives. I really want to help you, but I have no intention of dying. And I'd be surprised if Riley didn't feel the same way."

Sounding a little calmer than Tally, Janyuu said, "Try to understand that once you go in there, you and Jeri can't go back. If we lose, you two are history."

"I agree with Takato. She too should go in," Mari said suddenly. Takato, Tally and Janyuu all looked at her as soon as she made the sudden comment. Jeri did not.

"Why do you say that?"

"One of our biggest problems last time was the lack of knowledge about D-Reaper. Certainly our combined experiences with it will help us overcome it a second time. And who knows D-Reaper better than anybody else?" Mari turned to the answer. Jeri continued to face forward, although her breathing got deeper and her eyebrows furrowed a little.

"That's asking a bit much," Tally said, "I mean maybe Jeri doesn't want to remember what she went through." As she faced Jeri, she asked, "I imagine that was a pretty bad experience for you, right?"

Everybody stared at Jeri, waiting for a response. None came.

"I'll take that as a yes," Tally said.

Straightening his glasses, Janyuu attempted to offer some rationality. "Well, unless she really wants to go in, I say we keep her here. If we really need inside information, she can work with whoever is staying here."

"No. She has to come with us," Takato insisted. He just wanted this to be over, one way or another, "I know that we can do this, and I know that Jeri can help. But if not, I don't want any remnants of it. I know you think that if one of us stays alive you're accomplishing something. But I can't be Takato here, and she can't be Jeri. So what's the point? Win or lose- I just want to make things right."

As he looked around the room, nobody seemed to react. Mari and Jeri still stared blankly. Janyuu tried not to make eye contact with Takato. Tally was facing away from the group. After a few seconds, she turned around, suddenly furious.

"Who gives a damn about making things right!" Her outburst caught everybody off guard; even Mari and Jeri broke out of their trances and looked up at the fuming woman as she walked up to Takato. "Listen Takato, we aren't here to make things right! We aren't trying to restore order. That's what Yasuo wants! 'Right' means you never existed. 'Right' means Jeri never existed. 'Right' means that my husband and Mari's father are stuck in exile for eternity!" Takato had never seen Tally this angry. Her entire face was contorted in ways he didn't think she was capable of. "I could not care less about making this right, Takato. That's not what your world's about. Your world was our chance to make things better. And if that's not possible, then forgive me for trying to keep a couple people alive."

As soon as she finished, she walked away. Janyuu put a hand on her shoulder. Nobody dared to say anything in response- except for Riley, who burst out of the office and immediately looked at Tally. "Was that you, Tally?" she asked.

"Yeah," Tally replied, suddenly meek, "Just had to get a few things off my chest."

Janyuu continued to pat her on the shoulder. "It's okay, Tally. I can understand the kind of stress you're all going through."

Takato remained unmoved by it all. He knew what he had to do, and no talk of changing the world was going to stop him. "Are we ready to go?" he asked Riley.

Riley was still watching Tally. "Uh..." She finally shook it off and turned to Takato, "Yeah. Everything's set to go. I figure we have about 18 hours to set up everything we need."

Takato jumped out of the chair and walked up to Riley. "Then let's go."

"So what about Jeri?" Tally asked.

"I don't feel like any more arguments," Riley said, walking up to Jeri, "Jeri, it's your choice. I don't care either way. But I need to hear it from you."

Jeri looked up at Riley. Nobody said a word as they waited for her response. Then it came: "What's the point of staying here? If I have to be Jeri Katou... I guess I have to be Jeri Katou."

"You do not have to be Jeri Katou. You can stay here and Tally will figure something out for you."

"But I can't be Mari Izumi?"

For that, Riley looked over at Mari, who answered with an emphatic "No."

Riley continued to glare at Mari. "Does that mean _you're_ going to be Mari?"

"Of course."

"Then start acting like it and call your mother."

Mari backed away as Riley turned back to Jeri. "So you're coming then?"

"If I can't be Mari, there's no reason to stay. I'll be Jeri." Her voice remained low and she didn't look happy with the decision.

Riley took a deep breath, then extended a hand. "Okay. Let's go."

After staring at the outstretched palm for a moment, Jeri gently placed her right hand on it. Joined by Takato, they went into the office area. Tally, Janyuu and Mari followed, with Tally and Janyuu taking their positions at the computers.

Riley took a laptop computer off the desk and with her free hand, directed Takato and Jeri to stand in front of her. Tally was already entering commands into the computer.

"Everything's good to go. I'm assuming you've got something in that laptop that can contact us?"

"Yes. I put everything I need on here. Just make sure the port stays open and let us know if you notice anything strange."

Tally turned around and nodded, forcing her usual smile as she looked at Riley, "Take care, okay?"

Riley nodded in return. Tally then turned to Takato. He wasn't sure if she was still mad until she hugged him. That made it clear- she was. He could feel her frustration as she clutched him one last time.

"You too, Takato. Don't do anything stupid. If something bad happens to you or Jeri, I'm not going to forgive you."

He could only bow his head and let her put everything into the embrace. Finally, she let go and returned to the computer.

Janyuu was next, but he merely set a hand on Takato's shoulder and said, "Good luck. I know we made a bit of a mess in there, but if anybody can clean it up, it's you and Riley."

"Thanks," Takato replied. D-Reaper was one thing, but explaining everything to his friends was going to be another feat entirely.

With a faint smile, Janyuu added, "I also hear you've gotten into the business of telling kids their parents aren't really dead..."

Takato returned the smile. "I'll tell them. I'm not sure if they'll believe me, but I'll tell them."

"Thank you."

Janyuu took his seat at one of the computers and he and Tally began entering code. After so many years, they still seemed to know exactly what to do. Takato felt Riley's hand on his shoulder, bringing him closer to her. He looked over at Jeri, silently facing forward, clutching her duffel bag. Riley was drawing her in too. They were soon immersed in a pale green light, and while his feet were still resting on the floor, Takato felt like he was moving.

"Close your eyes," Riley said.

Takato did. He couldn't see the process, but he could certainly feel it. His hands began to go numb, then his arms. Pretty soon he felt his legs begin to go as well. He kept his eyes closed and braved the process as the rest of his body turned into data- back into data, just like when he started.

**To Be Continued in Stage Three- "Return"**

**Author's Notes  
**I am not too worried about the response to the Takato/Jeri scene. It helps to know that most of the readers seem to be Rukato fans, or at least the most vocal ones. This stage may not go down as one of Takato's finer moments, but after everything that has happened to him, I'd be pissed too.

This is the first and only stage to share a name with one of the layers from Lain. I didn't realize that until watching the series again, and didn't like the idea of repeating actual titles (since stages are named in such a similar fashion). But it's just too appropriate for this chapter.

Aya would certainly not be a stranger to Riley. Although not necessary a computer expert, Aya certainly has an interest in the field and is no slouch in conversations. As a result, she's perfect for Izzy: she even has her own word. By the way, "ineffable" means indescribable.

There's a lot to be said about Tally and her little outburst, or Mari's complete lack of any compassion for Jeri. Neither of the two have really been looked at much. Believe me, I'm not done with them, even if they are staying behind.

This ends Level 3: Stage Two of The Connection.


	3. Return

_**Level 3: Experiments**  
_  
**Stage Three- Return **

The sudden sensation of his palms on his legs assured Takato that the trip was over. He didn't feel like he was composed of anything different, but he had no doubt that he would see a different world when he opened his eyes.

Instead, he saw nothing.

"What's going on? Where are we?" he heard Jeri say. Although it certainly felt like a safe trip, the unforgiving darkness was creating some doubt.

Takato reached up to his face. His right hand felt an ear and a cheek; his ear and cheek felt a hand. Before Takato could be relieved that his mind and body were still one, a few scattered florescent lamps clicked on in random corners of the room. In the dim light that was suddenly provided, Takato made out computer monitors, expansive consoles and radar systems. This was the Hypnos command center in his world.

"About time the motion detectors kicked in. Now where's the light switch?" Riley asked, glancing around her old workplace.

Just as she took a step towards a nearby switch, more lights flashed on to fully illuminate the room.

"That works," Takato said.

"Hello?" They heard a young man shout from one corner. He was standing near the entrance, next to a light switch. As he approached, Takato did not immediately recognize him. But his wild brown hair and awkward smile were very familiar. As he approached them, Riley stepped forward to meet him.

"Did you think I was going to forget about you?" she asked.

His smile broadened as he replied, "No." Riley drew her arms around him and he closed his eyes, his arms rested on her shoulders. "I wasn't worried. I knew you'd find a way in here."

They separated. His smile remained as he added, "I was worried you'd try to figure out a way to save this place."

Riley turned to Takato and Jeri. "This is my son, Terry. He's been living in here for the last few years."

Terry laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, uh... we've met."

"Oh." Riley frowned momentarily before walking over to one of the massive consoles in the room. "Why don't you get reacquainted? I need to check some diagnostics and tell Tally we made it."

Takato's limited memory of Terry returned instantly. His innocuous exterior had been the final dagger, wooing Jeri away when Takato had needed her the most. And worse yet, according to Jeri, Terry had broken up with her soon after Takato had left.

"I see you found him," Terry said to Jeri, that wistful smile still on his face.

"No. He found me," she mumbled.

Terry laughed. "Either way, right?"

Jeri turned to Takato, who cracked a faint smile. She looked away in disgust.

"What's wrong?" Terry asked, as his smile left his face.

"Nothing," Jeri replied, facing away from both of them, "Thank you."

Takato folded his arms. "So you're involved with this too?"

"Nope!" Terry's smile somehow returned. "But I was the only one that stayed behind after Hypnos packed up. So I ended up being a messenger in case Mom needed something done here. I helped clue Henry in to where you were. Right now I think you guys are crazy for trying to save this world but I'll play along." He chuckled, "Make my father proud and all that."

"You're really Tai's son?" Takato asked in disbelief. Terry certainly didn't act like it.

"And that's all I am," Terry replied, suddenly serious, "And that's all I care to be. This whole 'save the world' business isn't my kind of thing."

"So why don't you leave?"

"Takato, I have no hero aspirations... but I'm not someone who runs away from my problems."

Takato couldn't tell if Terry meant that as an insult. It sure sounded like it, but Takato knew so little about this person, and he didn't want Terry to change his mind and walk away. Anybody who was willing to help was priceless.

Terry chuckled to himself. Before Takato could ask why, Terry extended a hand. "I guess for the time being, I look forward to pretending to get along with you."

Takato shook the hand, a little sullen. "Thank you," he mumbled.

"Terry!" Riley called, not looking up from the monitors in front of her, "Were you able to get a hold of anyone?"

Terry joined his mother. "Yeah. They're on their way."

"Any trouble finding them?"

"No. They were a little surprised to hear from me, but that's all."

Riley nodded and sat down at one of the terminals, leaning back in her chair as she started entering commands into the computer. She yawned, but she continued typing with no other change in expression.

Takato approached Riley. Whatever she was doing, she was being very casual about it. He wanted to know what made her relax all of a sudden. Furthermore, he wanted to see what made her so confident in her plan.

"Hey, Mom?" Terry asked, checking out some of the advanced equipment in the room, "Is it safe to stay here? I don't know if you had a look outside, but that thing's getting a bit bulky."

"It's surrounding this building. We have eighteen hours to take care of everything we need to here and set up another base."

"Plenty of time, I hope?"

"Should be. Has the first transfer been realized?"

"Yep." Terry walked back to Riley and Takato. "Want me to pull him out now?"

"No." Riley glanced at Takato, but turned away before he could ask anything about what was going on, "I only want to explain this once. Wait until Henry and the others get here."

After fifteen minutes of watching Riley work the helm of Hypnos, Takato still had no idea what she was doing. His questions were always met with "I'll explain later." Nobody else was anywhere near as anxious: Terry and Jeri were seated in a corner of the room, apparently having a good conversation. Takato couldn't hear what they were saying, but Jeri was talking and nodding in response to his questions. For a moment, Takato thought he saw her smile.

Terry's cell phone interrupted the conversation. As he answered it, he walked out the door, laughing.

With him gone, Takato walked up to Jeri. "What were you two talking about?"

"He just wanted to know if I was going to be okay." Jeri had no expression on her face as she stared at the door.

"Will you?"

"Do I have a choice?"

Before Takato could prod any further, Terry stepped back into the room. "We're all waiting for you," he said to somebody in the hall.

Henry followed him inside. Rika and Kazu were right behind him.

Takato's first instinct was to run up to them, embrace them and tell them how happy he was to see them again. But something about the looks on their faces prevented him from moving. Given the situation, he didn't blame them for not smiling, but Henry and Rika's faces showed pain extending beyond D-Reaper. Rika's eyes were as cold as when Takato had first met her. Her hair was cut even shorter than he remembered, and for some reason she was wearing a dress- an immediate red flag.

Henry's appearance shocked Takato even more. Takato was looking forward to seeing _his_ Henry, the one that cared about Digimon and would be eager to help. But the Henry staring back at Takato had the same demeanor as his apathetic real-world counterpart. With the exception of this Henry's red jacket, they were even wearing the same clothes.

All three were looking back at Takato, but none of them knew how to react. Still next to Takato, Jeri was also motionless. Finally, Rika approached him.

"Takato... is it really you?"

"Rika..." he whispered, then raised his voice as he added, "Yeah. It's me."

She still was not smiling; her eyes were still cold. "Ever since you left, ever since you gave up on all of this, I had always told myself that if I ever saw you again, the first thing I would do was punch you in the face."

Takato took a step back but she lunged forward, throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him in. As her chin fell on his shoulder, she whispered, "I'm such a liar."

He smiled slightly, patting her back. Perhaps she hadn't changed as much as he had thought.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," he said.

"No..." she pulled away, keeping her hands on his shoulders, "If you had told us, I would have gone with you."

Henry stepped forward, a little smile appearing as he shook his head. "So I guess Riley got you two back here?"

Rika scowled at him for a moment, while Takato stared back blankly. Henry was technically correct, but there was so much more to it that affirming would have been a half-truth.

"I guess you could say that," he conceded.

Henry nodded. "Well it's good to see you. You too, Jeri."

Out of nowhere, Kazu laughed. Henry and Rika watched him walk up to Takato and playfully punch him in the shoulder. "Well, it's good to see you again old buddy. Guess you're here to kick some D-Reaper butt, huh?"

Takato frowned. Kazu was still energetic and apparently ridiculously optimistic as well. Takato didn't have an answer for him. He knew Riley had some sort of plan, but she had not let anybody else in on it.

"So where is he?" Kazu asked, looking over Takato's shoulder.

Takato turned around, trying to figure out what his friend was looking for. "Who?"

"Guilmon. Aren't you going to pull him out and go save the day?"

Takato faced Kazu again, but couldn't make eye contact. He didn't want to kill Kazu's hopes. He also didn't want to bear the bad news so soon. He didn't want to accept the truth himself, but too many had confirmed that Guilmon was gone for it to be a lie. Takato knew that would become harder to bear now that he was back in his world. He was thrust back into familiarity, but the most important part of his past wouldn't be there.

With a low voice, he finally replied, "Guilmon's... not coming." It hurt just to say it.

Takato gathered the courage to look up at Kazu. His smile had vanished. He was just confused now.

"I don't know who Guilmon is but I know I'll try to help out." A new voice from across the room startled all of them.

Standing next to Terry was a Digimon. A yellowish-orange dinosaur creature. Takato recognized it immediately-

"An Agumon?" Henry beat Takato to it. "What's an Agumon doing here?"

"Riley says you guys need some help," Agumon replied.

Henry and Kazu ran up to him and Terry. "Terry, are you his... Tamer?" Henry asked.

Terry laughed. "Oh God no!"

Stepping between Henry and Kazu, Rika glared at Terry. "Then what are you doing here? You had said you weren't involved with this."

"He's my son," Riley said. Three confused faces turned to Riley, who remained stoic. "Agumon was his father's Digimon."

"You don't look..."

"I'm not as young as you think."

Kazu faced Terry again. "You told us you weren't into Digimon."

"I'm not," he replied, cracking a smile, "But my parents are crazy about it."

"Well, it's good enough for me!" Kazu grinned and patted Agumon on the head, "Not quite divine intervention, but whatever works."

"Don't worry, Kazu. If we pull this off, God'll get plenty of credit," Riley replied.

Terry let Agumon occupy himself with Kazu and walked up to his mother. "Did you talk to any of them yet?"

"Yeah, I got through to Izzy. He said he'll talk to Matt, so we should have a confirmation from them soon."

Henry turned to Riley, narrowing his eyes. "Wait a minute... did you say Izzy and Matt? From the TV show?"

"Oh yeah... the anime. I forgot about that," she replied in a bitter tone, "Yes- Izzy and Matt."

"Are you telling us that the cartoon is real? Like in some other world or something?"

Riley looked at Takato, who folded his arms and continued to stare back. He wanted to see how she was going to explain this.

Turning back to the unenlightened Tamers, her answer was brief: "Short answer- yes."

Kazu pointed to Agumon. "Does that mean that this Agumon is... you know, _the_ Agumon?"

"Yes," Riley replied, turning back to her computer.

"You said he was Terry's dad's."

"Yes."

"But Terry told us his dad was dead."

"Yes," Terry replied, a little annoyed.

Kazu looked at him, then at Agumon. Agumon bowed his head.

"That's kind of a downer," Kazu added, suddenly solemn.

Terry shook his head. "You guys don't seem to have much trouble believing this."

"After everything we've been through, believing the kids in the cartoon are real isn't much of a stretch," Henry replied.

Rika approached Riley, not about to let the interrogation end. "But you were here the first time. And we've known Terry for years. If you're from some other world, what have you been doing here all this time?"

Riley didn't look up from her work. "I don't want to go into details. I'm just trying to help."

Takato wasn't sure if he agreed with Riley's refusal to explain the situation. He definitely understood why she didn't want them to hear the truth, but he was growing tired of the secrets that seemingly everybody in the other world was keeping.

Henry was apparently growing tired of them too, because he gave up on Riley and went straight to Takato. "Did you know about all this?" he asked.

"Yes. Jeri and I ended up in their world. We found out everything." Takato wasn't going to do the same. He wasn't sure if his friends would be better for knowing, but withholding information or lying to them were out of the question.

Henry silently scrutinized Takato's statement for a few moments. He glanced at Riley momentarily, then turned back. "So who else is from the other world? Or is it just Riley?"

Riley was oblivious to the conversation, resigned to her work again. Now Takato was stuck with the answers. He took a deep breath and gave the honest answer: "Everybody."

Henry's mouth fell open. "Everybody? Like Yamaki?"

"Yeah."

"Tally?"

"Yeah." Takato looked down.

"What about everyone else?" Rika chimed in, "What about that girl with the Dobermon?"

Takato let out a little chuckle. "Yeah, turns out she's Izzy's daughter."

"Ryo?" Henry asked.

"Him too."

Rika brought it home. "What about the Monster Makers?"

"Yes."

Takato waited for Henry's next question. He knew what it would be. The seconds of silence meant nothing. Takato felt a hand on his chin gently forcing him to make eye contact with Henry. He dreaded the answer before he even asked the question.

"What about my father?"

Takato shook his head. It had to come out.

"He didn't go to the Digital World. He went home."

Henry's hand fell to his side. He looked completely drained, his entire life just thrown into uncertainty. Before Takato could attempt to say anything reassuring, Rika marched towards Riley, slamming her laptop shut.

"What's going on? You guys bored in your world so you felt like messing around in ours?"

Riley frowned at Rika. "You really want to know? Because it's not about who we really are. It's about who _you_ really are. And you may be better off not knowing the truth. Takato, what do you think?"

"Maybe," Takato replied, "But they need to know. It's the only way they can understand what's going on. And why you're here helping us."

Rubbing her eyes, Riley sighed heavily. "I guess so. Do you want to explain it or should I?"

As Henry still reeled from the first shocks of the evening, Takato wondered how many more surprises the guy could take. But he still had to know.

"Riley, you can do the honors."

* * *

"I don't know what I can do for her. She doesn't seem to want to talk about it, so I don't really know all the details." Michi could hear Yolei from the stairs. From the tone of the conversation, Michi guessed that Yolei was talking to someone, probably Mimi, on the phone.

"Well, that's what I thought at first. But this is more than just a routine broken heart. Something is really wrong." If it was Mimi, Michi wished she could hear the other end of the conversation. It was bad enough that her life had reached a dead end, but the added challenge of distancing herself from Koji's mission strained her further. Perhaps if she knew how Mimi was denying everything, it would subdue one of her problems.

"I wouldn't know. I haven't heard anything about him other than what Ken told me."

Ken had confirmed Koji's capture with Michi and Yolei. Michi had stayed silent, merely nodding when Ken tried to verify that she had no part in his plotting. She had felt a little guilty about denying responsibility in this whole mess, but she had her own problems to sort out and a bunch of letters from the past had less relevance now that Michi was staring into a blank future.

"You didn't know anything about that... did you?" It sounded like Yolei was sniffing out Mimi's involvement. Michi could only wonder what would happen if Mimi confessed. She didn't have to wonder long as Yolei sounded much calmer, saying, "Good. I was about to say- if you're going to start something, please inform the rest of us."

Michi entered the kitchen. "I know. I wish I knew what he was up to. What if he was doing something good? I mean, Michi obviously liked him." Yolei turned around and saw Michi staring back. "Oh, here she is."

As Michi stepped forward, Yolei handed her the phone. "Do you want to talk to Mimi?"

Michi wordlessly took the phone and put it to her ear. Instantly, she felt a little better hearing a familiar voice on the other end. "Hello? Michi?"

"Yeah," she replied, looking up as Yolei left the room.

"Are you okay? Yolei told me what happened to Koji."

"That's not the problem."

"What else is wrong?"

"I... don't know." She wanted to ramble on about something, but she couldn't find anywhere to start. She couldn't define the problem herself; framing it into a meaningful conversation was pointless.

"We can talk about it when you get back. I don't know when that will be, but just trust Yolei and Ken. They'll take care of you."

Finally, she grasped a concept and let it out. "I just feel like I'm going nowhere."

"It's okay. You're just kinda stuck right now. We'll get you out of it. You'll be back here and back to real life in no time."

As good as it felt to hear Mimi again, it still didn't feel right. She didn't have anything when she left. What was she going back to?

"Did you get to meet any of the other children?"

Michi sighed and answered "Mima and Mari." The two that had triggered this mess.

"That's good. Like I said, we'll talk about it when you get back," Mimi said, falling into her upbeat, cheery voice. It almost seemed repulsive to Michi. Everybody else was just breezing through this; another routine crisis in the life of a former Chosen.

Michi continued to listen to Mimi's words of support, but they were too general to do any good. Mimi's last attempt at assurance was "Everybody goes through something like this. You're just facing it a little later than we did. We're all here to help, but you'll have to fight through this. And I know you can do it."

That was the clincher for Michi. Because whatever she was going through was her battle. And despite the people that supported her, it was clear that she was alone.

* * *

Riley made little eye contact with anyone as she revealed the truth to Henry and his friends. She tried not to delve into any of the details, and Henry didn't want her to. It was bad enough finding out that everybody, including his father, had been lying about everything. Now he was finding out why they did- and it hurt even more.

His whole world was a science experiment- and a failed one at that. One that had warranted pulling the plug and abandoning. It confirmed feelings that Henry and Rika shared: their purpose in life had been met and there was nothing further. Now he understood. It was supposed to end with D-Reaper, but outside interference kept them alive.

"Why'd you help us to begin with?" Rika's question to Riley echoed Henry's thoughts.

Riley looked Rika in the eye and firmly replied, "This world means so much to me. To all of us. We didn't want to see it destroyed."

Henry wondered if Riley really cared about the creatures of the world, or if she and her allies had wanted to preserve the world only as a sentimental keepsake. They had not consulted him and the other Tamers first, nor had they bothered to consider what would happen after they had left.

"Now that D-Reaper has returned, several of us want to help you stop it a second time. And thanks to the breakthroughs of Rob, Janyuu and I, saving your world is a very real possibility," Riley concluded.

"First thing's first," Kazu said as he stood from his chair and smiled, "Thanks! We appreciate the help!"

Henry wasn't as easily pleased. "Hold on," he said, drawing an odd look from Kazu, "After all this time, why is it back? This Yasuo guy you mentioned... he just leaves us alone for four years, then decides to try again?"

"It's because of Takato and me, isn't it?" Henry nearly jumped out of his seat when he heard the girl sitting to his right respond. It was the first thing Jeri had said. Her downcast demeanor made Henry want to be concerned, but there was too much going on between Takato and Riley. Of course, Jeri's sudden outburst did raise a big question- how was she involved with all this?

"Unfortunately, yes," Riley replied, "When Yasuo found out that Takato had reached the real world, he perceived it as a threat. Under our agreement, the only reason D-Reaper could have been re-initialized was if your world posed a threat to ours."

Rika sneered. "That's a lame excuse. How's Takato a threat to your world?"

"Maybe he's not. But remember that as this was an experiment, the researchers gave Takato certain traits that they felt would make an ideal Tamer. Try to imagine the possibilities if someone with bad intentions did the same thing, and that creation was brought to the real world."

"Still a lame excuse."

Riley cracked a half-smile. "I never said it wasn't."

"Point is- this is my fault," Takato said, "That's why I'm back. Whether we can stop this or not, I'm not going to let you suffer alone for something I've done."

"But we can stop this, right?" Kazu interjected, boisterous, "You guys have Agumon and some sort of secret plan that's going to save the day... don't you?"

Riley stared at her computer for a few moments, then hit a key. "Time to find out."

The digital gate in the corner of the room, once used to create the impression that Janyuu had entered the Digital World, was now apparently serving a genuine purpose. Beams of light flew between its two ends, consuming so much electricity the ceiling lights started to flicker. After about ten seconds, the doorway was completely engulfed in light. A silhouette of a man began to materialize. As the image became sharper, a hand emerged from the light. Then an arm. Then the entire body stepped out of the portal and began to look around.

He looked like he was in his early forties, and his cool smile and casual outfit suggested that he was a friend. Henry found something familiar about the man's face, even though he knew nobody who came close to matching the stranger's physical description.

"So this is Takato's world," the man said, taking in the room, "If I hadn't known ahead of time I would have assumed it was real."

"Izzy!" Takato shouted, running up to him.

"Takato, you made it back! Prodigious!" Izzy's reply removed all doubt about who he was. He greeted Takato like an old friend, exchanging bows before patting him on the shoulder.

"You knew about this world?"

Izzy nodded. "I figured parts of it out. Riley filled me in on the rest. Speaking of which..."

Riley turned away from her computer in time to see Izzy approach and ask, "RKngel, I take it?" She smiled and nodded. "I just have one question."

She answered, "If he had arrived in Shinjuku, Yasuo would have discovered him immediately and this all would have happened two years ago. Instead I hacked in and sent Takato to New York to keep an eye on him."

Izzy smiled broadly. "I love you."

"You think that's impressive? Wait until you hear what Aya pulled off."

"Aya's involved with this?"

"So's Tally."

Izzy raised an eyebrow. "Tally? Now that surprises me."

As Riley went back to work, Izzy noticed Henry and Jeri. Jeri took a step forward, but hesitated after seeing his frown. He glanced around nervously, trying to say something but not quite finding the right way to start.

"D... Da..." Jeri began. She trailed off as he shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Jeri," he said with a sigh, "Ever since I was in there I had always believed that if anybody could break through to help us it would be Mari. When you showed up, I just... wanted you to be Mari so much that you were."

Jeri drooped her head. "Same here."

Izzy nodded, then turned to Henry. Slightly more upbeat, he said, "It's nice to see you again, Henry. Especially here."

"What do you mean?" Henry narrowed his eyes at the stranger.

"Never mind," Izzy replied, patting Henry's shoulder. "You probably don't remember me. It was a very long time ago."

After Izzy introduced himself to Rika and Kazu, he shook hands with Terry. Rika immediately faced Henry and Jeri. "You two know Izzy?"

"No, I don't," Henry replied, a little disturbed by the idea that he knew a character from the cartoon.

Rika turned back to Izzy, who was already getting chatty with Terry.

"He's weird," she muttered.

A new voice came from the gate. "So Riley, when did you get involved with all this tech stuff?" He was about the same age as Izzy, with blond hair. Henry guessed it was Matt.

"It's a hobby," Riley replied, hiding a smile behind her laptop, "Guess I've gotten a bit more involved with it over the years."

Matt walked up to her and rested an elbow on the console. "So what exactly is going on? Izzy says it's something about saving Takato's world, but wasn't too clear on the details. And why's Agumon here?"

"I'll explain later."

"Right... better beam up my wife next," Matt said with a sly smile as he approached Takato.

Kazu leaned in and whispered to Henry, "That must be Matt. Didn't he marry Sora?"

"I don't remember," Henry replied, folding his arms.

Indeed, Sora was next. After taking in the room, she immediately joined her husband and Takato, paying no regard to Riley.

"Takato!" she said as she embraced Takato, both with broad smiles. "So what have you been up to?"

"Well, it's been interesting. Let's just leave it at that." Takato's smile began to fade as he released himself from Sora's grasp.

Sora nodded. "I understand. I don't suppose you had the chance to deliver those letters, did you?"

His smile returned immediately. "Actually, they were all sent. I even met Michi and Kori."

Sora's face also lit up again. "That's great!"

"Michi even helped me deliver a few of them. I like her."

"Really?" She leaned in, raising an eyebrow.

Takato threw his hands up in defense. "Not like that."

"That's what they all say," Matt added.

"So what exactly is going on here?" Sora said to Matt.

"From what Izzy's telling me, Takato's world is in trouble and Riley found a way to get us here so we can help him. That's about all I know."

Frowning, Sora replied, "Well I hope we get a little more information before bringing our Digimon into all this."

Matt smirked. "Promise to behave around Riley?"

"Only if you do."

After a few quick words with Riley, Joe and TK joined in, introducing themselves to the other Tamers and greeting Takato warmly. Noticing Joe, Izzy made his way into the conversation. As the old digi-destined began gathering together, isolating Henry and the others, Henry approached them, not wanting to be ignored.

Izzy apparently didn't notice. "Joe, I was just talking to Riley to flesh out some of my theories on this place. She says this is all a MAXIS program."

Joe raised an eyebrow. "The MAXIS? Why would they use that? It's supposed to be for medical applications."

"But think about it. It's a perfect way to test out all sorts of theories. And judging by the authenticity of this world, and the fact that Riley is here, they've made quite a few advancements."

"So all those guesses you made about where Takato came from were true?" TK asked.

"For the most part. How else could D-Reaper attack it if the world wasn't digitized?"

"Then you really did know about all this?" Takato leaned in, trying to make eye contact with Izzy.

"Pretty much. Many of the elements you were talking about were some of Shibumi's stronger ideals. I hypothesized that he had a hand in creating this world."

TK smiled and shook his head. "Still wonder why you're named after Takato. I mean, why not something from Frontier? Takuya or Koji or something." As Takato laughed, TK suddenly turned serious. "Speaking of which, did you get a hold of Takuya?"

The laugh ended immediately as Takato replied, "Um... no, actually. Ma... wait-" Takato turned away from the crowd toward the smaller group of Jeri, Kazu, Rika and Terry. "Jeri! Did you talk to Takuya?"

Jeri looked back at him, rather emotionless. "Yes," she replied before returning to her group.

"Thank you!" TK shouted back. Then he turned back to Takato and added, "Who's she?"

"I'll explain later," Izzy replied, "Anyway, do you understand why I didn't tell you, Takato?"

Takato nodded slowly. "I ended up hearing it from Yasuo Akiyama."

Each of the Chosen took a step back as they heard the name. They silently scanned each others faces. Each had the same worried look.

Finally, Matt huffed, "You mean Yasuo's involved with this? Shit."

"Hmm... I thought this was some little research project. If Yasuo's involved, this is a big deal," Izzy said.

Sora shrugged. "Well, it must be if they need our help. I mean, if Takato and his friends can't do it alone, then it must be serious."

"Yeah," Henry remarked. That did raise a good question, one that Henry immediately presented to Takato: "Why can't we do this alone?"

Takato looked at Henry, but turned away immediately. His lips quivered for a moment before finally responding. "Our Digimon are... unavailable." Takato closed his eyes. He tried to say more, but he stopped and bit his lip.

As much of a disappointment as that was for Henry, the conversation wasn't stopping to let him grieve. Matt had already changed the topic: "Well, if Yasuo has something to do with all this, there's definitely more going on than some of Izzy's friends playing God."

"You guys are still going to help us, right?" Takato asked, only a slight trace of worry in his voice.

"We'll definitely have to discuss this and vote on it. If your world's on the line, I doubt any of us are going to say no, but having Yasuo in the picture raises a lot of questions."

Sora folded her arms and frowned. "And Riley better have the answers."

"Takato!" Another shout from the gate; Two more had arrived. Henry immediately recognized the speaker as Kari. Using two wooden elbow crutches to help her walk, she slowly approached her young Tamer friend. The second one was too busy taking in the room to notice anyone else. He looked younger than the others, younger than Henry even. His appearance suggested that he was Cody, but even the youngest digi-destined should have been older than this boy.

The other Chosen and Takato met Kari halfway, with Takato giving Kari a big hug. "So this is your world?" she asked, with a big smile.

"Yeah." Takato looked at her crutches. "You're out of the wheelchair?"

"Just for the last few months. It'll still be a couple years before I'm running around again."

"We're in no hurry," Joe replied, "But while we're here, maybe we can pick up some better crutches. I don't trust the ones we cobbled together."

"We can sightsee later. First we have to see what we can do to help Takato."

Meanwhile, Henry went up to Cody, still marveling at the Hypnos facility. "Is this the real world?" Cody said in an awed whisper.

Henry barely heard it, but he replied, "I don't know. I guess that depends on who you ask."

The boy looked up at Henry. "Do you think it's real?"

Henry took in the room himself. It was just a bunch of fancy equipment, but it certainly looked like genuine fancy equipment. Despite everything Riley had said, it was still the only reality he had ever known. And that made it real.

"Yeah," Henry replied, smiling as he proceeded to introduce himself.

* * *

After finishing yet another explanation, Riley glanced around the room to check for any confusion. At least this explanation was different- the fundamentals of D-Reaper and the best way to contain it. Janyuu and Tally still had to figure out how to defeat it entirely, but containment was the first priority.

According to Riley, that process wasn't going to be difficult. By attacking it, D-Reaper had to expend energy to defend itself. That diminished its ability to expand. Since it didn't have a strong energy source this time, depleting its energy immediately was the main goal. Upon containment, it was merely a matter of executing whatever plan Janyuu came up with.

"That sounds simple enough," Matt said after hearing her plan.

"Getting you here was the hard part. Now it shouldn't be too difficult," she replied.

Joe shook his head. "I don't like that word 'shouldn't.' This is way too easy for it to be true."

"Yeah, knowing our luck it'll be followed by another incarnation of Myotismon," Matt joked.

Riley smiled. "Disappointed that it's not harder?"

Now with a straight face, Matt replied, "More like apprehensive. You're staking a lot on the notion that it won't find this energy source. What happens if it does?"

Naturally, it would make the operation infinitely more difficult, but Riley didn't want to consider that possibility. "Even so, I'm sure you can handle it. The combined power of you seven should be enough."

Sora raised her eyebrows. "Should?" Riley cringed. She knew it was a bad choice of words as soon as she said it. But given how much it had taken to stop it six years ago, she wasn't going to guarantee anything.

TK pointed to the Tamers. "What did these guys have when they beat it the first time?"

"It was quite a battle," Riley conceded.

"We can't afford to be vague here, Riley," Izzy said, "How powerful were their Digimon? How many U-Levels did it take? Megas even?"

Riley sighed. She knew it would sound bad, but she couldn't lie: "Five M-Levels."

"Five!" came the chorus of incredulous shouts.

"We only needed two to beat Apocalymon!" TK added.

"As I said, we just have to make sure it doesn't find a source. If it doesn't- no problem. There's no need for pessimism."

"It's my job to be pessimistic," Joe replied angrily, "Before jumping into this, we have to think about the worst case scenario."

"Joe's right," Matt added, "You seem to have a very good plan, Riley. But it's our experience that things like this never go according to plan."

Kari jumped in as well: "The biggest concern I have is whether D-Reaper can get into the Digital World."

Riley sighed, a little more relieved: she had an answer for that. "Once we get all your Digimon here and set up a new base of operations, we will have to install a firewall to make sure D-Reaper doesn't get through. Assuming we do all this in a reasonable amount of time, that will not be a problem."

"But that will mean we can't go back either," Izzy said, narrowing his eyes. His voice shook a little as he continued, "That cuts off our only escape route if things get out of hand here."

Joe shook his head. "And that makes the worst case scenario three times as bad."

"How do you figure that?" Henry asked.

"Well, let's pretend that it finds a source and we aren't strong enough to stop it. We have no way of getting back and are wiped out along with this world."

Matt finished Joe's thought, "And ten years from now Daemon shows up unopposed and conquers both the Digital World and the _real_ real world."

Joe nodded. "Three worlds for the price of one."

Riley sneered. She was getting fed up with their negativity. "But that's nothing new for you guys. You should be used to fighting with such high stakes."

"Not by choice," TK replied, "You're asking us to put ourselves in this position."

"Look, Riley," Matt took a deep breath, "We would like nothing more than to help Takato. And we certainly wouldn't mind getting back at Yasuo Akiyama. But our top priority is protecting the Digital World, and we can't throw ourselves into battles that jeopardize it."

"What about Takato?" Riley glanced at Takato as she asked the question. Despite the doubts the Chosen were having, he seemed totally complacent about the idea that they may not help him after all.

"He can come back with us," Matt offered, "All of them can. If they're anything like Takato, we'd be glad to have the company."

Takato's reply was instant and firm: "No. This is my world. If we can't save it, I'm going down with it."

"Same here," Rika answered, stepping forward, "What about our families? Or anyone else we care about? We can't leave them to die."

"Takato, don't you have anything to say to them?" Riley asked, almost ready to snap at his refusal to plea for help.

Takato shook his head. "No. It's their decision. We can't force them to do anything, and they need to know exactly what they're getting into."

"Takato's right," Sora said, "We're just trying to make some sense of this. Now is there anything else we need to know?"

"Yes." Takato hesitated for a moment, and briefly glanced at Jeri before turning to the Chosen. "In my world, Digimon do not get reborn."

Riley buried her face in her hands. She was trying to convince the Chosen to help. Takato was seemingly giving them reasons not to. Dreading another barrage of questions, she looked up. They did seem more afraid, but they were all facing Takato.

"Why not?" Izzy asked.

Takato shook his head. "I don't know. We just know from experience."

Matt closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Ouch," he mumbled.

"I'm ready to vote," TK announced.

"Yeah. Good call." Matt turned to Riley. "We're going to go out in the hallway and talk about this. We'll let you know what we decide."

All Riley could do was nod as the seven walked out of the room. They were all frowning, and Riley noticed Sora glaring back at her. If the discussion of losing the Digital World didn't turn them away from the project, the thought of losing their Digimon certainly did.

As soon as the outside door shut and the Chosen were out of earshot, Riley screamed, "What kind of fucking death wish do you have, Takato!"

Takato folded his arms and stared right back. "Were you not planning to tell them that?" His voice did not waver.

"Takato, we need their help. They weren't sold on this before, but now that you've said that, Sora has a perfect reason to shoot this down."

"Why Sora? What makes you think she'd say no to this?"

Gritting her teeth, Riley eyed the doorway before answering, "Sora hates me."

Takato didn't respond. He waited for her to elaborate.

"Look, did she and Matt tell you they were separated?"

"Yeah."

"Well, before I was in a serious relationship with Tai, Matt and I had something of an affair." Takato was still glaring at her. In fact, everybody was. "Look, we didn't go as far as she thinks, but she's held a grudge ever since."

"That doesn't sound like Sora," Takato replied, unaffected by Riley's story.

"They're not perfect, Takato. They're not the kids from the cartoon. And not only was Sora misinformed about all this, she thinks Tai married me to keep me away from Matt. Whatever she did as a kid, I'm not impressed-"

"So what?" Rika interrupted, "So you were fooling around with Matt? Who cares?"

Riley was a little angry at the interruption, but Rika did have a point; she was getting off the topic. "My point is that Sora doesn't trust me, and I can't help but wonder if any of them do now."

Takato stood and took a couple steps towards her. "I can't believe you'd say that Sora would refuse to help us because you and her don't get along. This isn't about you. This is about us and our world. And they're going to help. I just wanted them to know everything."

"How exactly are they coming to this conclusion?" Henry asked, "I heard TK say something about a vote?"

"That's how they decide things," Takato answered, taking his seat. "They talk about it and have a vote. Something like this, five of them would need to say yes."

"Well, if five of them don't, you guys are in serious trouble," Riley added.

Now Rika stood up. "I just thought of something. We can't reach our Digital World, right?"

"Yeah, Takato says our Digimon are unavailable," Henry replied.

Riley raised an eyebrow. "Unavailable, Takato? What happened to wanting them to know everything?"

Takato ignored Riley. "What are you getting at, Rika?"

Facing the other Tamers, Rika explained, "We're not like the digi-destined. We don't have to be tied down to one Digimon." She turned to Riley. "So why don't we just grab a bunch of Digimon from their world and use them?"

After thinking about it for a second, Riley realized that it was a possibility. With one caveat- "I don't know how many wild Digimon you would be able to control. Especially if you don't have your D-Powers."

On cue, Rika, Henry and Kazu pulled out their D-Powers. "We came prepared," Kazu said, with a smile.

Suddenly, this became a very legitimate back-up plan. It was difficult to tell how strong the Digimon had to be when D-Reaper had no source, but a strong group of C-Levels did offer a slim chance.

Riley noticed that Takato was looking down. Obviously he didn't have his D-Power with him. "You know Takato, if you left your digivice in New York, we might be able to have Dwayne send it here," she said.

Without looking up, Takato replied, "It's not in New York. I took it with me to Japan, just in case. It's back at my hotel room in Odaiba."

Riley briefly considered suggesting that Tally or Mari go after it, but both she and Takato knew that was unfeasible at this point. That hotel room would have been cleared out by now- if not by the hotel staff then by Yasuo's troops.

"Hold on..." Jeri whimpered as she began digging through her bag. Riley's eyes grew wide as the girl pulled out her old yellow D-Power.

"Mom..." Jeri blinked twice, "...Aya said I should bring it... just in case."

Now it was getting interesting. Four digivices and five Tamers. In addition, Riley knew Terry could hold his own if needed. She even contemplated finding her old Centarumon and joining the battle herself. Whatever the case, they had a plan no matter what the Chosen decided.

In an instant, the outside door swung open and slammed shut again. Within that very brief moment, a fuming Cody entered the facility.

"I can't believe them!" he muttered, trying to find a private corner of the room to sulk in.

Takato approached him. "I take it you're not all on board?"

Still with his back to Takato, Cody shook his head. "Right now it's 4-2 in favor of helping. But that's a deadlock by our rules."

"So it's down to whoever didn't vote," Riley concluded.

"Sora. She didn't say a word the whole time."

Immediately, Riley wanted to ask Cody if he knew any friendly Renamon that would be willing to help. To her, it was over- not just because of her lack of faith in Sora, but because two others had voted against helping- without Sora saying anything.

Even Takato frowned as he heard the report. "But... who said no?"

Cody huffed, "I can't say. That's fine, because right now I can't believe that they'd do such a thing."

"Well, Cody, they are going out of their way to help us. With so much at risk, I guess it can't be helped if some of them don't want to."

"That's not the problem," Cody stared back at Takato, "It's why they don't want to help. They don't care at all about the chance of D-Reaper getting to the Digital World or us not getting back. It's just about Digimon not being reborn here." Cody shook his head. "Why should you be punished just because of a strange quirk in this world that you had no control over?"

"As much as we need your help, I don't want them to put their Digimon in any more danger than they'd be comfortable with," Takato said, trying to sound noble.

"Our Digimon are like extensions of ourselves. They would be fine with this if they knew it was to help you."

"It doesn't matter! You don't understand!" Cody was startled by the girl marching towards him. Takato turned around as well, and quickly stepped back as Jeri stared down Cody. Her eyes watered as she started yelling.

"Those Digimon have been with them their entire lives! The bond between them and you are probably stronger than any of us can possibly imagine. How can you be willing to put them in danger over something as silly as this place! Don't you understand what it means to not be reborn? It means everything you've shared with your partner, and everything special that was coming in the future vanishes in an instant. It's over!"

Cody was about three inches shorter than Jeri, and he was trying to increase that distance. He leaned back further as she continued her rant.

"In your world, you're used to getting another chance. But it's not that nice here, is it? And source or not, D-Reaper isn't going down without a fight. So you'll have to take that chance to battle it." She stopped, took a few breaths and closed her eyes. "Frankly, I'm surprised four of you said yes."

The entire group was left to stare in silence as Jeri wiped her eyes and marched back to her chair. She sat down and shook her head as if nothing had happened.

"Well..." Cody tried to frame a belated response, but could not come up with anything. Takato finally stepped in and whispered something to Cody. Cody gasped, then nodded in sudden understanding. "Never mind," he said.

The outside door swung open again. This time Matt entered. He glanced around the room, noticing everybody staring back at him. He sighed once before closing his eyes.

"Okay, let's do this," he mumbled, raising his voice a little to ensure that everybody got the message.

Riley almost fainted. After all the grilling questions, along with Takato and Jeri giving them more reasons to refuse, the Chosen had still come through. She regained her bearings as the other five entered the room and greeted the smiling Tamers, all ready for the new battle.

Takato's smile was almost as big as Cody's. "You almost had me worried there, Matt," Takato said, approaching the group.

Riley chuckled. As counter-productive as Takato had seemed to be, he still had faith in them. She was much more surprised by their verdict. "So you're really willing to put everything on the line like this?" she asked.

Joe shrugged. "If we're putting our world over Takato's, we're no better than Yasuo, right?"

As flawed as the logic was, Riley had to smile. She also had to lean back in her chair: as long as the day had been, there was still a lot of work to do.

"I guess Cody told you about Sora then?" Riley sat up as she heard Matt's voice right next to her.

"Yeah," she replied, shaking her head, "I was even trying to come up with a Plan B."

"She did have a lot of reservations, and she still doesn't trust you at all." Matt looked over at his wife, pleasantly talking with Rika and Kazu. "But it basically came down to how much she cares about Takato against how much she doubts your plan. Took her a while, but I know her too well to get worried."

He set a hand on Riley's shoulder and added, "You need to give her more credit."

Despite his lecture, hearing him was comforting. But one thing was still nagging in Riley's head: "So if it wasn't Sora, who did vote against helping us?"

Matt laughed. "Doesn't matter. In the end we decided, as a group, to help. Don't worry about who was against the idea. I don't see any dissenters now."

He was right. Regardless of whom they were talking to, each of the other Chosen were smiling. The Tamers were equally enthusiastic about their new allies. As tiresome as the whole process was, Riley had finally given Takato his fighting chance.

Now all that remained was the hard part.

**To Be Continued in Stage Four- "Chess"**

**Author's Notes **  
Once again, stage three sets the tone for everything. There's a lot going on here, and it'll be hard to catch everything on the first try. You also may have to go back to Level 1 to remember what was going on with the digi-destined... and Terry.

Terry plays an interesting part in all this, since his role in this stage basically solidifies how significant he was in Level 1. His lineage was hinted at throughout Level 1, and while only one person actually told me she figured it out, I have a feeling several more did. His personality is worth looking at, especially everything he's been through. However, all of that aside, I don't blame you if you think he's still kind of a jerk.

For your information, Jeri is not going to be taking all this lying down. She's pretty much done angsting and she will be an active character from here on out. Sorry to disappoint you.

The Tai/Riley/Matt/Sora rectangle will remain an underlying factor throughout the story. It's actually a pretty neat side story, one I may even write someday, and it's kind of my answer to the Tai/Sora/Matt triangle in the series.

Don't be surprised if future stages are as long as this one. There are a lot of things to cover here and only five more stages to do it. There was going to be a scene with Yasuo at the end of this stage, but I moved it to the next one. Ken and Yamaki will also play prominent roles in stage four.

This ends Level 3: Stage Four of The Connection.


	4. Chess

_**Level 3: Experiments**  
_  
**Stage Four- Chess**

What started as a precautionary measure had evolved into two full-blown crises for Yasuo. The first was Takato Matsuki's appearance in the real world. Having some dreamer's artificial creation become reality troubled Yasuo enough. But it also bothered him to think that Takato had gone unnoticed for two years. Clearly, Yasuo's network of surveillance was diminishing. He had hoped that fear alone would prevent his opponents from stepping out of line, but the Takato situation threw that into doubt.

Yasuo had not really believed that Michi and her companion were up to anything. But their actions had been suspicious and warranted an investigation. Takato was one thing, but TK Takaishi's letter added a completely new threat. Michi's involvement was still speculative, but her companion had definitely been up to something- trying to expose the biggest secret Yasuo had to protect.

Suddenly, Yasuo had to deal with both matters at the same time. D-Reaper was running its course through Takato's world; that was a start. But Yasuo also needed to recover Takato for the situation to be secure. And although Takato had claimed that none of the other letters had been delivered, Yasuo needed to verify that. Such detective work would normally fall to Ken Ichijouji, but for obvious reasons, Yasuo couldn't give Ken that job. Someone else needed to step in.

Said someone entered Yasuo's office, clutching something in his right hand. Yasuo didn't bother to look up from his paperwork until Yamaki said, "This definitely should be Ichijouji's job."

"Can't take that chance," Yasuo replied, finally meeting Yamaki eye-to-eye. "Find anything?"

"The hotel had already cleared out their room, but the staff let me look at what was left behind. Michi's laptop was still in there, but there's nothing useful on it."

"Uh huh," Yasuo muttered.

Yamaki stepped forward. "I also found this," he said, unclasping his hand.

It was a D-Power- white with gold trim. Unmistakably Takato's.

Yasuo's eyes grew wide and he leaned back in his chair, both amazed and repulsed by the item. "A digivice?"

"I'm surprised Takato left it in there. I'll hang onto it for now."

"Yes." Yasuo took a deep breath as Yamaki pocketed it. "Find anything important, such as the other letters?"

Yamaki shook his head. "There was no sign of the other letters."

"That's not good. He should have had at least the letters for the other Japanese children."

"If you don't mind me saying so, I don't want to have anything to do with this." Yasuo glared at Yamaki, who was trying to avoid eye contact. "I don't know enough about the Chosen and their kids, and I'd like to keep it that way. I'd rather concentrate on monitoring D-Reaper's progress."

As one of the few people who knew about the MAXIS, having Yamaki investigating Takato's actions was proving useful to Yasuo. But given the absence of anything valuable in his search, it wasn't useful enough. "Very well," Yasuo responded, adding a nod, "Just make sure to give me an update on its progress tomorrow."

As Yamaki nodded and left the room, Yasuo pondered the missing letters. D-Reaper wiping out the MAXIS world was all but a foregone conclusion; the letters were the real problem. If they weren't with Takato and they weren't in the hotel room, that left few possibilities. Michi was one of them, but Ken and Takato had both claimed she knew nothing of the plan. Naturally, Takato could have lied about not delivering any of the others- a very bad situation for Yasuo. In addition, Takato may not have brought all of them; with three of the intended recipients in New York, those letters may have been delivered already, or were back at Takato's apartment.

Yasuo did not have access to the forces that had sought and silenced trouble-makers in the past. Except for the Jim Kido incident, the Chosen had been dormant for far too long for them to be incessantly monitored. Taking care of any completed deliveries or scoping out an apartment in Queens would be a burden. Yasuo knew they could end up being necessary, but first he had to make sure. Fortunately, he could do that very easily:

He had to speak to Michi.

* * *

From her vantage point from the kitchen, Yolei could only dread what Ken was discussing on the phone. He was slumped against the back of the living room couch, staring at the ceiling as he replied "right" every ten seconds or so. As worried as he looked, she didn't want to interrupt: the sooner he hung up, the sooner she could find out the bad news.

"I'll see what I can do. See you tomorrow," Ken said. After one last word from whoever was on the other end, Ken turned off the phone and blindly set it on the end table. That was Yolei's cue to enter.

"Who was that?" she asked as if she hadn't already guessed.

"Yasuo," Ken mumbled. He sat forward, resting his arms on his knees. After staring down for a few moments, he turned to his wife. "He wants to see Michi tomorrow morning."

Yolei sat next to him. "Why? I thought you said she had nothing to do with this."

"He just wants to make sure. He says she can clear up a few things."

She folded her arms, leaning back into the couch. "You're not going to let him, are you?"

"I don't have much of a choice."

"Of course you do! Michi's in no state to deal with Yasuo. There has to be some way to get around it."

Ken remained quiet. "I don't think dodging the issue is the best idea. Yasuo says he doesn't think she did anything wrong."

Yolei scoffed. "Sure he doesn't."

"He also said that if Michi shows that she had nothing to do with Koji's activities, Yasuo would let her go home."

"I don't believe him," Yolei replied flatly.

Ken shook his head. "Yolei, this isn't a request he's making. He is telling me to bring Michi tomorrow. If I don't, he's going to suspect both of us."

It wasn't Ken she was mad at, but Yolei couldn't help but raise her voice at him. "But you know he's going to catch her on something! He's out to get her, and if anything happened to Michi, Mimi would never forgive us."

Somehow, Ken remained calm. So calm, in fact, that Yolei wished he would show a little more emotion over the pinch they were in. But he just stated, very plainly, "If I take her in, there's a chance he'll find a reason to take care of her. If I don't, he'll definitely have a reason to take care of both of us. I don't want anything to happen to Michi, but I can't put her above you or me or the kids."

"What's this about the kids?" Ken and Yolei were both started by Chiaki coming in from behind.

Ken faced his son. Retaining his flat, expressionless tone, he asked, "Chiaki? Could you get Michi?"

Chiaki nodded and ran upstairs without saying a word. When he was out of earshot, Yolei continued where they had left off: "But there has to be an easier way than throwing Michi to the wolf like that."

Ken shook his head. "I don't think so. Besides, I haven't heard anything that makes me believe that Michi knew what Koji was up to. I don't think Koji implicated her, because if he had, Yasuo would have just told me to arrest her. If she's as quiet as she is here, Yasuo won't have much to accuse her with."

The trouble with that logic, of course, was that it involved Koji. Yolei didn't know anything about this boy, other than the fact that he was trying to stir up trouble that neither she nor the other remaining Chosen wanted to be involved with.

"Speaking of Koji, did you get anything back from Riley?" asked Yolei. Riley was another problem. While still a friend among the group, even after the Sealing, Riley's relentless refusal to move on set her apart from the others. At first it had only been Riley's disturbing belief that Tai was not really dead. But as the years went by, Riley had become more determined to plot a way to reverse the Sealing, never coming close to realizing any of her ideas.

"No," Ken answered, not surprising Yolei in the least. She had no doubt that Riley and Koji were somehow connected in this, but Riley seemed content to get information from Ken while leaving him in the dark.

"I'm going to kill her," Yolei mumbled.

"Who? Riley?"

"I mean, even if she and Koji have good intentions, they had no right to drag Michi into all of this. And now you and Chiaki are involved. I just wish she'd leave it all alone like the rest of us."

Ken turned toward the stairs as Michi descended. She moved cautiously; her face didn't help Yolei figure out what she was thinking.

"Michi?" Ken said as she stopped in front of them, "Do you know what Koji was trying to do?"

She looked down, shook her head, then replied, "Yes."

That alone was new information for Yolei. "What was it?"

Michi opened her mouth, but after looking both of them in the eye, shook her head again. "I don't want to say. I don't know if I believe it anymore. No point in getting your hopes up."

Rather than prod the issue, Ken got to the point. "Michi, there's somebody that wants to talk to you about this. He's been investigating Koji and wants to see if you can answer some of his questions. Before you say anything, you should know that he's not the friendliest person out there. He can be a little harsh at times, and-"

Yolei didn't bother sugar-coating it: "He's an asshole."

Ken paused, but nodded in response. "Yeah. But if you can show that you had no idea what Koji was doing when you came to Japan, and that he tricked you into helping him, Yasuo will let you go home."

"Michi, keep in mind that we don't have to go through him if you don't want to. He's going to try to force you to talk about all this, whether you want to or not. Ken and I don't think you did anything wrong, but I'd understand it if you want to avoid this guy all the same." Yolei turned to her husband. "Right, Ken?"

Ken said nothing. He was busy watching Michi for any sign of response. From Yolei's guesses, Michi was either heavily weighing her options or the whole discussion had flown completely past her.

Finally, she looked up at Ken. "I just want to go home,"

Ken sighed. His voice remained monotone as he replied, "So you're going to do it? Are you sure?" Michi nodded. "Okay. See you tomorrow morning."

Without saying anything else, Michi ascended the stairs and was out of sight.

Yolei shook her head. She couldn't help but think this was going to be a disaster. "Ken," she warned, "You better make sure nothing happens to her. I still say this is a bad idea."

"I don't like it either, Yolei, but this may be the best chance to get Michi home and getting Yasuo off of our tails."

"Well, if this goes sour-"

Ken nodded. "I know. Mimi's going to kill me."

"Mimi?" Yolei said, sitting back on the couch and folding her arms, "She won't have anything left to kill after I'm through with you."

* * *

As soon as the Chosen had committed themselves to helping, the wave of preparations began. Riley showed Izzy how to bring in the Digimon- a necessary delegation since she had to essentially disassemble the Hypnos server. They still had all night to get themselves and the required technology off the premises, and Riley guessed that the entire process would only take a couple hours. The sooner they were gone, however, the sooner they could set up base somewhere else and begin the battle properly.

One by one, the Digimon arrived. There was no happy reunion here: each Digimon met with its partner and received a full briefing on the situation. In turn, each responded with the same eagerness to help Takato.

Since Riley's work on Hypnos was a one-person job at the moment, Rika was left with little to do. Henry and Kazu were off securing a new location for their headquarters. Takato helped the Chosen explain the situation to the arriving Digimon. Terry and Jeri seemed content sitting back and watching the proceedings. Rika was not. She wasn't one to let the digi-destined have all the fun. This battle was for her world, and there was no way she was going to stand on the sidelines as a group of outsiders did all the work.

Izzy was typing on a keyboard, entering a series of quick, choppy keystrokes while staring at the monitor. He appeared to be engaged in some very serious business, but that didn't stop Rika from approaching him.

"Hey, Izzy," she said, making no effort to sound humble, or even sorry for interrupting him.

Izzy stopped, frowned, then turned to her. Before he spoke, he forced a smile. "Yes? Rika, right?"

"Yeah. While you guys were out in the hallway, we were considering a backup plan in case you all chickened out of this."

He chuckled, his smile growing wider. "I don't blame you. It was a very loud discussion. We almost didn't do it. What's the plan?"

"Can you pull out some Digimon for us?"

Izzy raised his eyebrows, slowly turning to the monitor. He scratched his chin as he considered the idea. "Something along the lines of partners for you guys, in place of the real thing?"

"You can do that, right?"

"I don't know. That depends on the Digimon and you. They'd have to be willing to help, and you'd have to know how to help it fight."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Rika said, pulling out her D-Power. "We're not tied down to one partner, so we should be able to help anybody."

"Hmm..." Izzy pushed his chair back and stood, calling out towards the gate, "Matt! Do you have a second?"

Both Matt and Gabumon came over. Izzy put an hand on Rika's shoulder as he explained, "Rika has an interesting idea. What if we retrieved Digimon for them too?"

Matt cracked a smile. "Couldn't hurt. I mean, we're used to high-powered one-on-one battles. But from the sound of things, we're basically putting this sucker under siege. If that's the case, even a bubble attack from a dinky little I-Level will help."

"Okay, but which Digimon should we use?"

"Let's make it simple. Rika, who was your partner?"

"Renamon," Rika replied, shrugging Izzy's hand off.

Matt's reply was immediate, but still very casual: "Never heard of it."

Izzy shot Matt an incredulous look. "Matt, my sister-in-law had a Renamon."

"Uh..."

Rather than wait for Izzy to jog Matt's memory, Rika fiddled with her D-Power until an analyzer screen appeared with a picture of Renamon. She showed it to Matt. "Here," she said, in her best demeaning tone.

Matt's face quickly lit up with realization. "Oh yeah! It's been a while." After nodding, he quickly took a closer look at the screen. "You guys have an analyzer on your digivice? Izzy, why didn't we get these?"

Rika pulled the distraction away. "Can you get her or not?"

Izzy shook his head. "I don't know. We got along well enough, but I don't think she's fought alongside a human before. I don't know if she's fought at all."

"I wouldn't worry about that, Izzy," Gabumon said. He stepped in front of Matt and continued, "If she's anything like every Renamon I've come across, she won't mind getting into a scrap or two."

"True. And they certainly are prodigious Rookies. Rika, if you think you can handle her, I'm all for it."

Rika smiled. "I look forward to the chance."

"Good," Matt responded, "Now how about your friends?"

Kazu and Henry barged into the room, with Kazu proudly proclaiming, "Mission accomplished!"

"You two beat D-Reaper?" TK joked, "Great, let's go home."

Matt sounded a little more professional. "I take it things went well?"

Henry was equally serious. "We have space in an office building a few blocks away and a truck to get everything there."

Rika wasn't surprised. The three of them had already talked to the city, alerting officials of D-Reaper's presence. As a result, they not only had the full cooperation of the Tokyo government, but had helped make sure the city got evacuated before it became urgent. With everybody gone except for some emergency services, securing some downtown real estate wasn't going to be any trouble.

"I can get used to having support staff," Matt said with a smile.

"Henry, are you still partnered with Gummymon?" Izzy asked.

After a momentary delay, Henry answered, "If by that you mean Terriermon, yeah."

"Right... Terriermon's his R-Level," Izzy mumbled as he typed away. "In fact, it looks like the one I was looking at digivolved to C-Level on his own. Even better."

"What are you going on about?"

"Rika suggested retrieving Digimon for you. To ease the adjustment, we're trying to take the same type as your original partner, at whichever level we can get."

Henry raised an eyebrow. "So you're saying you just found another Terriermon?"

"Gargomon actually."

"Thank you, Rika," Kazu said in such a cheesy tone that even Rika had to smile.

Izzy was too busy staring at his screen to notice. "How about you, Kazu?"

"One Guardromon, please."

After typing for a second, Izzy frowned. "Guardromon. Not sure about that one..." His face lit up before Kazu could think about being disappointed. "But Guardromon digivolves into Andromon. And I know that won't be a problem."

Henry, however, raised one: "Actually, uh, after he became Kazu's partner, Guardromon never digivolved to-"

"Shut up, Henry," Kazu interrupted, adding a playful elbow.

Izzy quickly turned to the next subject. "And Jeri?"

As all eyes turned to her, Jeri stepped back. The other Tamers looked apprehensive, while Izzy and Matt were just waiting for an answer.

"What did you want?" she asked.

"Who's your partner?" Izzy repeated the question, as casual as when he asked Henry and Kazu.

Jeri hesitated before her slow reply. "Well... it's Leomon, but..."

Matt cringed. "Ooh, Leomon."

Izzy was already back on the computer. "What's wrong with Leomon? He's a good fighter. Always willing to help us out."

"Uh, Takato and I had an incident with one a few years ago."

Izzy's eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the data on the screen. "Says here he's only three years old." He looked up at Matt. "An incident, huh?"

"He was corrupted. Almost killed Kari and Cody."

With a chuckle, Izzy resumed typing. "Well, he won't remember that, now will he?"

"What are you talking about?" Jeri asked, slowly approaching them.

"Nothing," Matt replied. He gave Jeri a thumb's up. "You're all set."

Izzy quickly resumed. "And we know what Takato gets."

As he finished up, Riley approached them, her laptop secured under her arm. "What's going on?"

"Just getting some back-up. From what you said, it'll be smart to have a few extra Digimon around," Matt said.

"Rika's idea," Izzy added.

Riley nodded. "It's a good one."

"I don't care if it was a good idea. I just don't want to get bored," Rika said, with a smile.

Glancing over Izzy's shoulder, Riley said, "Well, get everything squared away with that. We should get going."

A few keyboard strokes later, the new additions began arriving.

* * *

The relocation process turned out to be as demanding as any other move. With the system temporarily secured, everyone capable of moving the equipment was needed. That included the new Digimon arrivals, preventing any of the Tamers from holding an extended conversation with their new "partners." Veemon, of course, wasn't doing any heavy lifting, but Takato certainly did his share. Fortunately, with almost everyone contributing, and Kari doing her damnedest to despite her disability, nobody had to make more than one trip to the lobby.

With just a large box of peripherals and extension cords, Jeri got off relatively lightly. But as she rode the elevator down to the truck, she couldn't say the same for her companions.

"I'm not speaking from experience, but this isn't what I envisioned saving the world to be like," Renamon said, shuffling the two computer monitors in her arms.

The stifled chuckle from behind startled Jeri. It was the first sound that came from Leomon since they had boarded the elevator. From the harsh look in his eyes and the tone of his voice, she already could tell that this was not the same one. That alone wasn't a problem: Jeri didn't ask for her Leomon back, nor did she expect this one to mimic him exactly. However, despite not being this Leomon's ordained partner, Jeri was still responsible for his safety.

"Something funny, Leomon?" Renamon asked.

"You've never fought alongside a human before?" Every word cemented his presence, making Jeri more nervous.

"No. I just hope this Rika knows what she's doing. Because I certainly do not."

"You'll be fine," Jeri interjected.

"So how about you, Jeri? This is somewhat new for me as well," Leomon said.

"Um..." Jeri couldn't go into details about her history as a Tamer, but had to say something. After rubbing her hands together nervously, she admitted, "I'm not that good at this."

"Well, Matt says you guys beat this once, so you must have done something right. Just point me in the right direction and get out of my way. Can you handle that?"

"Yes," Jeri said, smiling a little. If there was anything good about this Leomon's personality, it was that she wouldn't get too attached to it. He was more distant and more gruff. Not enough so that she couldn't work with him, but he wasn't _her_ Leomon. And as the elevator opened and the three saw the pool of chaos across the street, Jeri considered that a good thing.

By the time everybody was on the ground floor, it was almost nine o'clock at night. The tower's lobby was minimally lit, but the only visual aid Matt needed was outside. "Okay, if you haven't figured it out yet, that's D-Reaper," he said, pointing to it. Then he turned to Riley. "Right?"

Riley nodded; Matt continued: "For now, the best we can do is keep it at bay, prevent it from moving forward, and force it to use up its energy to defend itself. To do that, we need to constantly attack it. So instead of hitting it all at once, we're going to do this in shifts, so somebody is always attacking."

"You can explain more once we finish moving," Riley said, "Henry, where's the truck?"

"It's right outside. Kazu and I didn't bother with the loading dock," Henry replied.

"That makes it easy," Matt said, smiling, "First shift is TK, Cody and Jeri. Which means Shakkoumon can keep the truck covered while Leomon provides the offense. All right?"

TK and Cody immediately stepped forward. Jeri followed their lead.

"How long's the shift?" Cody asked, "Because if it's more than a couple hours, our Digimon won't be able to go the whole time."

Matt nodded. "Six hours, and you're right. The Digimon will definitely need to take a breather somewhere during the shift. As long as somebody's attacking, that's fine. You can work that out on your own. Any other questions?"

"Nope," TK replied, holding his digivice at Patamon. Patamon started glowing, and Angemon took his place within a few seconds. With Cody's help, Armadillomon digivolved as well.

With Ankylomon and Angemon leading the way, the group stepped outside. The truck Henry had provided was parked rather illegally on the plaza. But it was far enough from D-Reaper to let them load everything without incident.

Along with all the equipment, Matt, Riley, Henry, Izzy, Takato and Sora boarded the truck. As Henry started the engine, D-Reaper began showing interest in them: a lone bird-like Seacher agent emerged from the chaos and hesitantly flew towards the group.

"Looks like we have her attention," Takato said.

"What is that?" TK asked.

"Searcher. Second agent of D-Reaper," Riley replied.

As it began scanning the group, Jeri took a couple steps back. "It's gathering information on us. Trying to determine if we're a threat."

"Fortunately, it doesn't have much in the way of offense," Henry added.

Matt smirked. "In other words- cannon fodder. Who wants to do the honors?"

Cody gestured towards Jeri and smiled. "Seems only appropriate that Jeri and Leomon deliver the first shot."

"Yeah," TK said, "Once she takes that thing out, we'll call up Shakkoumon and escort everybody out of here."

After carefully eyeing the truck, the Searcher was now staring back at Jeri. Its emotionless expression almost matched Jeri's. She stepped forward, took a deep breath, and pointed at it.

"Leomon, aim for the cord connecting it to D-Reaper."

Automatically, Leomon responded, "Fist of the Beast King!"

The shot connected, the Searcher dissipated, and two Digimon were uniting. The emerging giant stood watch as the truck took to the streets.

Behind them, the pedestrians followed Leomon and Jeri. "Don't stop now. Just keep attacking it," Jeri commanded.

As Leomon started delivering a steady pounding on the mass, Cody nodded at Jeri. "Nice shot."

"Thank you," Jeri said, smiling briefly before resuming her duty.

* * *

Armed with a cup of coffee, Yamaki entered what had pretty much been his office for the last week. Unfortunately, he hadn't had much time to do what he was supposed to- make sure that the MAXIS world was being eradicated. After a day of playing detective, Yamaki was eager to check on D-Reaper.

At first glance, the charts only told Yamaki what he had already known: the deletion program was taking its sweet time. Naturally, that was due to the lack of a human source, but Yamaki was certainly willing to wait on the plodding D-Reaper if it meant avoiding that route.

Perhaps it was his imagination, but its development seemed even slower than expected. The visual data showed a thin ring surrounding the towers- D-Reaper's focal point. That too was not unusual, but Yamaki had thought that D-Reaper would have started filling itself in by this point. Instead, the circle of chaos had made no attempt at consuming the tower and its width was strangely inconsistent. A section on one end was several hundred meters wide, but another on the opposite end was only about fifty.

"This is odd," Yamaki mumbled to himself as he tried accessing more information. This time, he called up a historical chart. One of D-Reaper's characteristics was exponential growth, and the first couple days reflected that. But rather than take off and overwhelm the world with its size, D-Reaper had leveled off to a moderate increase starting at about ten o'clock the previous night. In fact, rather than curve upwards, the line gradually arched down, until the startling mark in the middle of the night.

"Regression," Yamaki mumbled, unable to fathom how this could be possible. Somehow, D-Reaper was losing energy. He frantically tried to access whatever he could to learn more, but he knew nothing in that world could have stopped the program.

"Unless someone else is interfering," Yamaki said to himself, sitting back in his chair.

He almost didn't want to check for the presence of real world humans in the MAXIS. He knew whose name was bound to appear. But he needed confirmation, and found it easily enough. The only one the database recognized was Riley Ootori.

It pained him to see her inside, expending her energy to save something that just didn't matter in the long run. Yamaki had never envisioned her to be so stubborn when they had first met, and hadn't even noticed it when they began their affair. She had been the reason he poured his efforts into saving the world the first time. At the time, Yamaki had been so depressed over the Vikaralamon incident and so angry for having to shoulder the blame that it didn't take much for Riley to bring him around. That had been one of his weaker moments, and Riley had said all the right things. Now that he was thinking more logically, he saw Riley's continued fight as a fruitless defense for a world that wasn't worth it.

But there she was- not only had she snuck back into the MAXIS, but she was also apparently finding some success. With seemingly nothing to fight back with, she was winning. This was, obviously, a problem for Yamaki. He reached for the phone, but as his hand rested on the black handset, he hesitated. As much as it was his responsibility, he still had to accept the fact that he was betraying Riley.

Upon Takato's arrival in the real world, Yamaki recognized the other world as dangerous. What set him apart from Yasuo was in how much Yamaki saw it as a threat. While eliminating the world was the best option, Yamaki wasn't prepared to go to extreme lengths to do so. Given what threats the MAXIS did pose, were they really significant enough to go to war with Riley? Knowing Yasuo's tactics, that could mean overloading the system or introducing a human source. Furthermore, Yasuo would have no mercy should Riley become trapped inside.

Unfortunately, Yamaki had already chosen where his loyalty would lie. And if Riley was content with risking her life for some insignificant application, Yamaki couldn't stick his neck out to save hers. He picked up the phone and called Yasuo.

* * *

"What's your name?" Yasuo asked Michi, a seemingly innocuous question, but her answer could potentially say a lot.

"Michi Grant," she replied, barely louder than a mumble. Fortunately, the conference room was small enough that Yasuo could hear her, even from the other side of the table. Unfortunately, her answer didn't tell him much.

"Who are your parents?" He typically was more direct in his questioning. But since he didn't know how much Michi was aware of, he had to be careful not to make her suspect too much.

"Matt and Sora Ishida." Her eyes remained fixated on the ground.

"Where are they?"

"They died," she said with no change in tone, "When I was really young."

"How did they die?"

"I guess it was a fire. I don't really remember it that well."

"What do you remember about them?" Yasuo turned away and leaned back in his chair. While they always had the possibility of tricking Michi into saying something incriminating, they were filler questions while he determined how to approach the meat of the interrogation.

"I'm jealous of them." That caught his attention. He looked over as she continued, "They did so many unbelievable things by the time they were my age. It was difficult, but it was so incredible at the same time. And it showed them the way to go. For my father, it shaped his entire life, but my mother was able to accomplish something else entirely. But what am I supposed to do?"

Yasuo didn't expect that answer, but it was irrelevant anyway. "When did you first meet Takato?"

For the first time in the conversation, she looked up at him, narrowing her eyes. "Takato?"

He blinked. "Koji," he clarified.

And her head went back down. "I met him at a party a few weeks ago."

"What do you see in him? So much that you'd go to Japan with him despite only knowing him for a short time?"

She shook her head. "He just... knew where he was going. He didn't always know the best way to get there, but he seemed to have his journey set out before him."

"That was enough for you to travel with him?"

"He was going anyway. And it's been so long since I had been to Japan. I wanted to do something. Have my journey too."

Yasuo huffed. This was doomed to go nowhere unless he got into specifics. "Why exactly was he going to Japan?"

Michi looked up. Her eyes were drooping, but still met Yasuo's without flinching. From the way she slouched over in the chair and seemed ready to either fall asleep or burst into tears at any moment, Yasuo had assumed he could bully all the information he needed out of her, but even his glare was off-target.

As she glanced aside, Yasuo leaned in, anticipating a response. "He knew where he was going," she said.

After failing with the direct approach, Yasuo changed the subject: "What made you run off Monday night?"

"I don't want to talk about that," she mumbled.

Yasuo turned away. "Listen Michi, Koji's already in trouble. You can't hurt him any more. Anything you say is in your defense," he said, as polite as he could manage.

Michi leaned back and folded her arms. "I think..." She closed her eyes and concluded, "I think I fell in love with him."

He had no follow-up for that response. In fact, he and Ken had developed several theories over why she left the hotel. None of them were remotely close. At the moment, all Yasuo could do was stare at the ceiling and try to steer the interrogation back to anything remotely useful.

He couldn't be sure if it was fortunate or unfortunate, but Michi elaborated, "But I didn't know what I was doing. And by the time I was ready to talk to him, he and Mari were..." Michi paused. Yasuo rolled his eyes and mouthed, "He knew what he was doing," as Michi said it.

"It just completely threw me off guard. I had always thought that I had things figured out, but he showed me that I didn't know anything. So now I'm lost. I left to go clear my head and... I never saw him again."

Yasuo shook his head. This was going nowhere. But just as he was planning to give up and let her go, he caught it...

"Mari? As in Mari Izumi?" He sat up straight and faced Michi again. She too looked startled, looking up from whatever she was fantasizing.

"Yes?"

"I know you were visiting the children of the Japanese Chosen. I want to know why." With Mari in the picture, everything had changed. She had inadvertently said something crucial, especially since Takato had denied delivering any of the letters.

Michi backed away. Caught in his stare, she froze; the only sound she emitted was her heavy breathing.

Yasuo resisted the urge to smile: he had her now. "Michi, what do you know?"

"You mean the letters?" she squeaked.

Despite successfully forcing a confession, Yasuo wasn't happy. He closed his eyes and sighed. He had wished Michi was oblivious to all of this. He had wanted to get both her and Ken out of the picture. Unfortunately, life was never that easy.

Of course, that was why he had called her in. He needed to find out the truth. "So you do know about the letters?" he asked in a grave voice.

She slumped down in the chair again. "Yeah. They're supposedly from our parents."

"Did you receive one?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"Before we left."

This was turning out very bad for Yasuo. "Koji's journey" that Michi was talking about was proving to be as serious as Yasuo had imagined. But before he could conjure up a way to discredit the letters, he had to know the extent of the damage.

"How many letters did Koji deliver?"

Michi looked up, and thought before answering, "Five."

That, of course, was going to require a lot of discrediting. Yasuo could only guess how he was going to convince five people that the letters were not genuine.

As he mentally cursed Takato for getting involved with all this, Michi continued, "I don't know if I believe it anymore. This whole thing with Koji and the letters seemed too good to be real. It's like something out of a dream. Someone passing out good news like Santa Claus."

"It wasn't real," Yasuo replied, "The whole thing was a fraud, and Koji will be punished for it."

Somehow, she didn't react. Michi remained slouched in the chair, glancing at the floor. For a moment, Yasuo didn't know if she believed him. He said it to test how well the children received the letters. Michi was clearly not a good test sample. Whatever she believed, she was going through a personal crisis either way.

"Figures," she finally mumbled, "I got carried away with the whole adventure. I just wanted to be a part of it. I shouldn't have left New York."

Yasuo nodded. At least she seemed willing to forget everything. Then she added, "I shouldn't have left him either. Fake or not, I should have stuck with it instead of throwing it away in a moment of panic. No matter what it is, I don't know where I'm going. Right now I just want to go home and start over."

Before Yasuo could comprehend that, he heard a knock on the door.

"Damn," he muttered, hoping it would go away. But a second knock forced him to stand up and open the door.

Yamaki was on the other side. "Your phone was turned off."

Yasuo glared at him, forcing Yamaki to back away. "Of course it was. I'm talking to Michi."

Yamaki didn't seem to care, instead handed Yasuo a sheet of paper. "This can't wait."

On it was a series of charts, random numbers and other statistics that meant nothing to Yasuo. "What is this supposed to mean?"

"Something's fighting D-Reaper..." Yasuo looked up at the frowning Yamaki, "...and winning."

Yasuo leaned forward, his eyebrows furrowing as he asked, "What? How?"

He stepped away, shaking his head as Yamaki answered, "Riley's in there. I don't know what she's doing but it's working."

"Is Takato in there?"

"I can't tell. It's very possible."

"He keeps finding new ways of giving me trouble."

"How so?" Yamaki opened the door a crack and looked at Michi. "What's the status on her?"

"She knows everything," Yasuo replied, with his back to Yamaki, "She's involved, but says she was just tagging along. Some business about having a journey. She's not even sure if she believes him."

Yamaki shut the door. "Think she's telling the truth?"

"She's in no position to lie. I made sure of that," Yasuo said.

"Well, you'll have to take care of that on your own time, because D-Reaper is losing energy fast. What do you think we should do?"

Yasuo folded his arms. Two potentially disastrous problems- both emerging within minutes of each other. His enemies had gotten a head start, and his response was going to have to be immediate and decisive.

He turned around and faced Yamaki. "I think the answer's painfully obvious."

* * *

As Terry stared out the third story window, the presence of D-Reaper several blocks away seemed so nonthreatening. The new headquarters Henry had provided was in a good location- far enough from the battlefront to be out of danger, but close enough to effectively monitor the front line. The best part, of course, was the facility itself. Not only was there enough room to set up the essentials from Hypnos, and Riley's connection to the real world, but a lounge and an executive suite upstairs provided a makeshift sleeping quarters. Terry, however, was busy enjoying the view from the floor's lobby- which quickly had become a popular venue for taking some time to unwind. 

He had been alone until the sound of steps alerted him to someone else's presence. He turned around to see Jeri, arching her back and stretching her arms behind her. She closed her eyes and inhaled, her chest protruding just enough to get Terry's attention. He smiled, admitting to himself that he still found her beautiful.

"Sleep well?" he said, mostly to let her know he was in the room.

It worked, as she quickly stood up straight and let her hands fall to her sides. Despite being momentarily startled, she smiled and said, "Good morning."

Terry checked his watch, prompting her to add, "Is it still morning?"

"You have an hour to spare."

Jeri shook her head, but still kept smiling as she walked up to him. "It's eleven?" she said in disbelief, "I've never slept this late before."

Terry raised his eyebrows in amusement. "Well, you were on duty until three. As far as I know, Cody and TK are still asleep."

She nodded. "I suppose. How did the second group do?"

"Pretty good. Izzy and Kazu did really well. Takato..." He tried to think of something positive to say, but nothing was coming out.

Jeri's smile faded. "I suppose it's tough without Guilmon."

"Someone said Takato got Veemon to evolve once, but I guess it didn't happen today. Maybe he should have taken Agumon instead." It was a thought that had crossed Terry's mind a couple times after learning about Veemon's ineffectiveness against D-Reaper. Terry had been appointed an "emergency backup." He was satisfied with that, but couldn't help but think Agumon would be more useful under Takato's supervision.

She smiled again, approaching the window. "I'm sure he'll do it eventually."

Despite staring out at the destructive force she had been such a part of, she still carried that serene smile. As captivated as Terry was by it, he still found it very odd. "You're in a good mood today."

"It's strange," she replied, "When I woke up, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. Ever since I came here I could feel it. It still wanted me. It was still calling me. And now... nothing. I think it finally let me go."

Terry chuckled. "Maybe after you attacked it for six hours, it finally got the hint."

"No," she said immediately, "That wasn't it." She turned to him, now with a straight face. "While Leomon was attacking it, I still felt like it was a part of me. I could almost feel what it was going through. It was losing energy, and there was nothing it could do."

"But that's good."

"That's very good, except for me. It was still trying to reach me when I went to sleep. I did my best to ignore it, and when I woke up it was gone."

She looked back out the window and sighed. "I suppose it was a good idea for me to come here after all. Takato practically had to drag me here, but I'm so glad he did. Now I think can finally get this out of my system. It's such a relief."

Terry smiled. He loved seeing her like this. Her personal issues had always made him uncomfortable while they were dating. He had tried to support her after she finished seeing her therapist, but he had no way of understanding what she was going through. He may have broken up with her, but Terry was still glad to see her overcome these problems.

Joining her at the window, he too stared at D-Reaper. Taking a breath, he said, "You know, even if we're not together anymore, I'm still really glad you're back. I mean, no matter what's going on with Takato, I just want you to know that-"

"Why are you letting me go?" she said all of us a sudden. He looked at her, wondering if he was talking to him. But he noticed that her face had turned more pale. Her mouth fell open a bit as she stared at D-Reaper... apparently seeking an answer.

"Jeri, are you all right?"

She didn't respond. After staring out the window for several seconds, her eyes suddenly grew wider.

"What is it?" he asked, making no effort to hide the worry in his voice.

Again, no answer. She turned away and walked past him. He watched her, baffled, until he saw her walking towards the exit. It took a few moments for that to register in Terry's head. When it did, he ran into the hallway, just in time to see her behind the closing doors of the descending elevator.

He put a hand on the door. "Jeri?"

"What's wrong?" he heard from the other side of the room.

Recognizing the voice, he approached her, pointing to the elevator. "Aunt Kari, Jeri just left. She suddenly looked really pale. Like she was possessed or something."

Kari turned just as pale. "That can't be good." She got to the window in time to see Jeri leaving the building, and walking directly towards D-Reaper.

"She was fine one minute and then... I don't know what happened."

"Jeri was D-Reaper's source the first time, wasn't she?" Kari asked.

"What's going on?" Now Sora was entering the room.

Kari continued to watch Jeri. "Sora, you know that look I get when I have one of those Dragomon moments?"

Sora gulped. "Yeah?"

"Looks like Jeri has those too. Except I doubt that it's Dragomon."

By the time Sora was looking out the window, Jeri was already a block away and gaining speed. Sora turned to Kari, who stared back. Neither needed to say anything; Sora ran back into the office.

"Are you calling Matt?" Kari asked.

Sora stopped, and turned around. "No, I'm calling Biyomon. I'm getting her myself."

* * *

As WereGarurumon and Zudomon continued the assault on D-Reaper, Renamon had another responsibility- buying the refreshments.

"So this is what you call cooling down?" Renamon asked Matt as he took one of the six bottles of water she had in her arms.

Matt smiled. "You were really going at it. Don't want you to cramp up or anything while you're taking a break."

"That, or Matt's too lazy to get these himself," Rika added, taking one herself.

Joe took a third bottle and thanked Renamon. After setting two bottles down, she opened one and took a drink.

"Where's my card?" Rika asked.

"Oh... right," Renamon said, returning Rika's cash card.

"Thanks for buying, Rika," Matt said, raising his bottle in her direction.

Joe did the same. "If I had any money here, I'd buy the next round."

Renamon joined Rika on the sidewalk bench, across the street from the battlefield. Matt and Joe remained standing, but with their partners thoroughly in control of the situation, they needed to do very little supervising.

"So when do you want me to jump back in?" Renamon asked.

Joe smiled. "You like this whole battling thing, don't you?"

"I have been in battles before. Just never with a human partner."

"Who was your original partner? Aya's sister?"

"Yes. Although I was never in the real world much, I did enjoy her company. A nice break from Digital World life, I suppose."

"What do you mean you weren't in the real world much? Didn't your partner want you around?" Rika asked.

"Rika, Renamon's relationship with her partner was very typical back then," Joe explained, "Just because everybody had a partner didn't mean that everybody had a Digimon running around the real world. Some kept their Digimon around for company, some only brought them to the real world every once in a while. And some never bothered to meet their partners at all. Renamon may not have had any spectacular adventures with her partner, but they had a good relationship anyway."

"And she can sure kick some butt against D-Reaper, and that's what's important here," Matt added.

Rika smiled, then turned to Renamon. "To answer your question, why you take another twenty minutes to catch your breath? Then you can jump back in."

"Yeah," Matt said, "By that time, I'm sure WereGarurumon will need a break. Or at least he'll need to drop to C-Level for a while."

Renamon nodded and leaned back on the bench as she finished her drink. Rika did the same, every so often glancing at Renamon and smiling.

Matt took a swig from his own bottle. "So what's your story?" he asked Rika.

Rika narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you mean?"

With a smug smile, he answered, "Well, what do you do when you're not here saving the world? You guys know everything about us; it's only fair we know what you ended up doing."

"Oh." Rika turned away. "I'm in the, uh, fashion industry."

"Really?" Matt replied, raising his eyebrows, "Designing or modeling?"

She shook her head. "Neither. I work on the management side. My mother was a model and tried to get me to follow suit. I couldn't stand what she did, but she introduced me to the business end of things. I found that a lot more interesting, and I've been working my way up for a couple years now."

"Ah," Matt said with a nod.

"The whole modeling side of it is just a circus. I didn't want to have anything to do with that. But management is harsh, cold-hearted, and we're encouraged to screw people over every day." Smiling, she added, "It's fun."

Matt chuckled. "Sorry I asked."

Rika frowned. "Why?"

Still smiling, he replied, "My wife used to have a clothing line. She liked doing it, but she always hated having to deal with executives that were in charge of buying and selling her designs. Kind of amusing."

"Would have been funnier if Sora had asked Rika what she did for a living," Joe added.

Matt nodded. "And I almost put them together."

"Oh yeah..." Rika said, looking up at WereGarurumon and Zudomon. "Sora did become a designer. I remember that."

"As I said, you already know about us."

Rika looked down at her bottle. "Not everything. I'm still wondering how the heck you became an astronaut."

"It's not really an interesting story. Talk to Kari, she's the mastermind behind..." Matt trailed off as he noticed someone coming into view behind the bench. He was nervous for a moment, but calmed down when he realized who it was.

"Hey, Jeri." As she drew closer, Matt noticed that she wasn't looking at him or his companions. She was staring up at D-Reaper, her mouth partially open as she continued to walk up to it.

Joe started to approach her. "What is it?"

Jeri didn't acknowledge him. Rika frantically jumped out of the bench and ran up to her. "Jeri?" she shouted.

Before Rika reached her, Jeri stopped. Still, Rika grabbed Jeri's wrist. Despite being only a foot away, she still yelled, "What is it? What's it doing to you?"

Again, Jeri didn't seem to hear it. She continued to stare at the red mass.

"Jeri, can you hear us?" Matt asked, cautiously approaching.

Jeri eyes suddenly grew wider and she tried to release herself from Rika's grasp. Rika held tightly and tried to pulled her away from D-Reaper. But that was the same direction Jeri was trying to go, and another jerk forced Rika's hand away. Now free, Jeri began backing away from D-Reaper.

Joe turned to Jeri, then to D-Reaper, and then back. In a soothing voice, he said, "Okay, calm down. We're taking care of this."

"No... what are you doing?" Jeri mumbled.

"What was that?" Matt said.

"What are you doing?" Jeri repeated, louder this time.

Rika stepped between Jeri and D-Reaper, spreading her arms out. Facing D-Reaper, she shouted, "Leave her alone!"

"No! You all need to get out of here!" Jeri shouted. Rika looked over her shoulder. Jeri was looking right back at her, and she turned to Matt and Joe as well.

"Jeri, we've got this under control," Matt held up his hands, slowly approaching her.

"Not anymore!" With no further explanation, Jeri ran away, turning back around every few yards.

Matt dropped his hands to his sides. "Um..."

After glancing at D-Reaper once more, Joe also took a few steps away from it. "You know... call me crazy but I think we should listen to her." Turning to his partner, he shouted, "Zudomon! Fall back!" Without a word, Zudomon began backpedaling, flanked by his partner.

As she looked up at the program, Rika also began to back away. "You know what... I'm with Joe." Without looking, she commanded, "Renamon, I'll meet you back at headquarters."

"Um... yes, Rika," Renamon said as she vanished.

While Matt wordlessly watched the spontaneous retreat, WereGarurumon landed nearby. "Why are they leaving?"

"I don't know," Matt mumbled as he faced D-Reaper. He didn't notice any difference in it, other than the fact that it was slowly starting to spread. Not surprising, since the Digimon had just stopped attacking. "Hey, could you attack it just once, then go back down to C-Level?"

"Wolf Claw!" WereGarurumon shouted, slicing at the blob. Finishing that, he landed and devolved into Garurumon. If anything, the attack made D-Reaper grow faster.

"What now?" Garurumon asked.

Matt turned around. Jeri was already out of sight, while Joe and Rika were a block away and had no intention of looking back.

"Matt?" Garurumon said, this time with more urgency. Matt looked at his partner, backing away to avoid the chaos. It was spreading faster, and Matt could hear a low rumble in the distance.

He ran up to Garurumon and jumped on his back. "Let's get out of here."

Garurumon spun around and sprinted away. Matt turned around in time to see the chaos spread past the bench and the two remaining bottles. And it was spreading even faster.

"Hurry up!" Matt shouted.

Garurumon obeyed and started picking up speed. Thankfully, they were outrunning D-Reaper, and caught up to Joe and Rika immediately. As they flew past, Matt shouted, "Joe, you two better pick up the pace. That thing must have caught a second wind."

Rika, Joe and Zudomon turned around. D-Reaper was just fifteen yards away.

"Vulcan's Hammer!" Zudomon attacked, but it did nothing.

Matt wanted to shout more instructions, but Garurumon had already moved out of their earshot. He was confident that Joe and Rika would get to safety. He wasn't so sure about the next person he reached.

"Jeri! Hop on!" he yelled, extending a hand.

Jeri saw him, and also saw D-Reaper, spreading even faster. She leaped into the air and grabbed his lower arm. He clutched hers and hoisted her up, letting her swing her legs around Garurumon's back.

"Thank you," Jeri said, wrapping her arms around his waist.

Despite D-Reaper's best efforts, Garurumon easily outran it. After going another two blocks, Matt heard a familiar cry from above.

"Matt!" Sora and Birdramon descended and landed next to Garurumon.

"Sora!" Without Matt needing to say anything else, Garurumon stopped.

"Is everybody okay? What's going on?"

"I've got Jeri, but Joe and Rika are still back there. Make sure they get back all right."

Sora nodded, then looked up at her Digimon partner. "Let's go, Birdramon."

* * *

Unfortunately, Joe wasn't as fast as Garurumon. He wasn't as young as Rika either, and ran out of breath quickly.

"Move it, Joe! It's catching up to you!" Rika shouted, ten yards ahead of him.

Joe looked back once, then screamed. D-Reaper was getting dangerously close.

Zudomon stepped forward, attacked, then picked Joe up with his free hand. But as the giant beast retreated, a large hook struck him in the back of the head, forcing him to drop Joe.

Joe landed on his feet and faced the attacker- a large, red agent with hooks at the end of its tentacle-like arms. Long scythes made up its feet, and they were hovering two feet above the ground.

With help from Rika, Joe got away quickly, leaving Zudomon to attack the Pendulum Feet agent. "Vulcan's Hammer!"

"No, wait!" Rika shouted, but the attack already connected, striking what appeared to be Pendulum Feet's face.

"What is it?" Joe asked.

The agent responded by slamming both of its feet against the ground. An energy beam shot from the ground, directly at Zudomon's head. He took the attack full-force and fell backwards, devolving into Gomamon in the process.

Rika gritted her teeth and muttered, "It can use our attacks against us."

"Gomamon!" Joe wasn't concerned with that, charging forward to retrieve his Digimon.

"Joe!" Rika shouted after him as Pendulum Feet drew its arms back for another attack. She knew he was foolishly throwing himself into danger, but knew better than to stop him. Before Joe could reach Gomamon, however, Pendulum Feet shot its arms forward.

"Meteor Wing!" cried Birdramon as she swooped down and struck the cord between the agent and the chaos.

"Sora!" Joe shouted, cradling Gomamon as Pendulum Feet dissolved into a puddle of red.

"Get on!" Sora replied. Joe jumped on Birdramon's unoccupied foot. The bird Digimon flew to Rika, who joined Sora. Birdramon took to air and delivered them back to base.

* * *

Matt and Jeri were waiting outside, the former running to meet the group as soon as Birdramon landed. He noticed Gomamon immediately. "What happened?"

"Another agent," Rika replied, "Hit Gomamon pretty hard."

Resting in Joe's arms, Gomamon's breathing was labored, but at least he was breathing. "He'll survive, but I think he's done for the day," Joe said.

Matt sighed, slumping his shoulders. Sora gently set an arm on his back. "What on Earth just happened?" he asked himself. He reciprocated his wife's gesture by briefly patting her on the back, then turned around and walked up to Jeri. Again, she was staring blankly at D-Reaper, stabilizing a few blocks away.

"So what's going on?" he asked.

In a low voice, she replied, "Ever since I came back here, I could hear D-Reaper calling for me. Even while I was attacking it, it still kept trying to reach me. Then this morning, it stopped. And I didn't know why."

Matt didn't respond. He took another look at it, just happy its sudden growth spurt had subsided.

Jeri continued, "I just realized why. It's because it doesn't want me anymore... it doesn't need me anymore." She took a few steps towards D-Reaper, before turning around and bowing her head.

"It's found somebody else."

To Be Continued in Stage Five- "Family"

**Author's Notes**  
Some readers were afraid Michi was going to be left behind as Level 3 unfolded. I guess they don't have to worry any longer.

After Grim Reality, I felt obligated to have an Izzy/Rika moment somewhere. So here it is. And while I did shed light on what Rika ends up doing with her life, don't expect too much more out of her in future stages. She has a little more time in the next stage, but her role is greatly reduced after that.

For once, I'm following the convention that any character with a name is important to the story. While I bent that in the past and provided names of a few family members like Junko or Mizuki (Cody and Joe's wives) out of curiosity, nobody needs to know the name of Izzy's sister-in-law. I was considering naming her in the story, but figured there's enough people to remember here already.

For those who counted, six of the seven letters were successfully delivered, but Michi didn't know about Shinya receiving his letter from Mari... er... Jeri.

This ends Level 3: Stage Four of The Connection.


	5. Family

_**Level 3: Experiments**  
_  
**Stage Five- Family**

By noon, the seven Chosen were all awake, aware of the situation, and awaiting further instruction in the control room. Four Tamers stood by the doorway, silently watching their TV heroes and would-be saviors appear completely lost amidst the recent development. The one person that united them was not in the room; he was upstairs talking to Riley. Until either of them appeared, nobody dared make a move. Bolstered by a human source, D-Reaper now had the energy to not only devour the world, but also to repel any attack that was unfocused or disorganized. Whatever move the Chosen made next, it had to be smart.

The silence scared Kazu. To him, the world needed heroes and the mighty digi-destined had come to the rescue. Only here they were just seven people fearing for their lives in downtown Shinjuku. Sora was sitting with her arms folded, glaring at the clock on the wall. Matt gently rubbed her shoulder, but his face was blankly looking up at the ceiling. Izzy yawned; thanks to his three o'clock shift he had only gotten a couple hours of sleep. The same applied to Kazu; he yawned back. Joe was still cradling Gomamon. The Digimon was merely asleep but Pendulum Feet's attack was enough to scare any respectable partner. Cody remained focused, glancing around the room and trying to read some eyes. Given the unhappy expression on his face, he either wasn't having any luck or didn't like what he saw.

Kari's head rested on TK's shoulder, with TK wrapping an arm around her waist. Both were staring at the ground, TK shaking his head slowly. Their intimacy struck Kazu as interesting, although he was discouraged that TK wasn't emanating the hope he was said to embody. Instead, TK appeared to be another adult helpless to stop the end of the world.

All eyes turned to Takato as he entered the room. He didn't seem to acknowledge them, instead concentrating on finding a place to sit. Unable to find one, he gave up and stood in the center of the room.

"So what's the world from Riley?" Izzy asked.

Takato didn't make eye contact as he nervously answered, "I think she's taking this pretty hard. She said she needed some time alone to think things through. She wasn't planning for this to happen."

"Why not? She should have at least considered the possibility," Sora muttered.

"Takato, she needs to know that sulking about this won't help," Joe said, "She's the only one who knows enough about this thing to make smart decisions. We need her right now."

As TK and Izzy started to echo similar thoughts, Takato looked up at them. The uneasiness in his voice seemed to vanish as he said, "Listen, it's not like we have to wait around for her. We still need to try to control D-Reaper while we still can."

"Takato's right," Henry added, "It's going to start growing again soon, and much faster. Probably enough to swallow up this building by this time tomorrow."

"You mean we may have to move again?" Cody asked.

"We have to be ready for the possibility."

Matt stood. "Would attacking it now do any good?" he asked Henry.

"It can't hurt, although it's going to have a few more agents in its arsenal now."

"So we'll need some firepower..." Matt looked around the room. "Gomamon's still recovering and Renamon's only an R-Level, so let's send the fourth shift out now."

"For how long?" Sora asked. The fourth shift comprised of herself, Kari and Henry.

"I'm not going to forget about you, dear. Just go out and kill whatever you can."

She and Kari stood and walked to the exit. TK said, "Be careful, Kari," the only comment made as they and Henry left.

Takato immediately claimed Sora's seat. He slumped down, closed his eyes and exhaled. Izzy patted him on the back, but Takato didn't seem to notice.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to just send them out?" TK asked Matt. TK was sitting sideways in his chair, his upper arm brushing up against the window as his head leaned on his hand.

Matt shrugged. "I don't want too many going out until we have a better idea of what we're doing. You and Cody and Jeri are next in line, so I want to save you. And Izzy and Kazu didn't get much sleep. They and their Digimon are probably exhausted. If it makes sense, maybe Rika and I can go back out in a bit. But the girls will be fine for now."

TK shook his head. "What are you basing that on, Matt? One of those agents took out Zudomon in one swipe, and it's getting stronger."

Rika stepped forward and said, "That only happened because Joe didn't know what its powers were. Henry's out there; he'll tell them what to watch out for."

Kazu smiled. "Wow, Rika, that's the nicest thing you've said about Henry in years!"

"Shut up, Kazu," she fired back.

Nothing seemed to reassure TK, who sat forward and said, "But Gargomon and Gatomon are stuck on C-Level. Can they really do anything?"

"Gatomon?" Kazu replied, an incredulous smile appearing. "Aren't you forgetting about Angewomon?"

He was more surprised to see a row of somber faces, most with their heads down.

Takato was among them, and he looked up at Kazu and delivered the news: "Kazu, Gatomon was deleted a couple years ago."

Cody nodded. "In our world, Digimon get reborn, but she had to start over with Kari. They haven't reached Ultimate yet."

"And last time I checked, their synch level wasn't high enough," Joe added.

Matt looked around the room. The mood had somehow gotten even worse. Doing his best to sound optimistic, he said, "Look, Sora can still go M-Level. And there's always the chance of a dynamic."

"A dynamic!" TK shouted, suddenly standing up. His wide eyes stared up at his brother. "You don't seriously plan to rely on a dynamic digivolution, do you? We can't put Kari in that kind of danger."

Matt shrugged. "Way most dynamics work, it's not up to us."

"This is serious, Matt. We can't expect a dynamic digivolution, especially if it's for the first time. If it doesn't happen, then Kari would be... she'd be..." TK couldn't finish the thought.

Matt sighed. "They've never let us down before. Guess you just have to have faith in Gatomon."

"Yeah," Kazu added, "Where's your crest of Hope?"

TK narrowed his eyes and sneered at Kazu.

"In case you haven't noticed, we're not kids anymore. I don't know how you guys do things here, but we're beyond relying on intangible symbols and miracles to get things done." TK turned back to Matt. "We're accostumed to knowing what the situation is and being in control. Now, thanks to Riley, we're lost and scared and just trying to get back home. I don't know about everybody else, but I have no desire to feel like I'm eight again."

As TK took his seat, Izzy continued the thought, speaking slowly and calmly: "Matt, consider the fact that you mentioned a dynamic digivolution. You're assuming that if Kari's life is in danger, Gatomon will digivolve. We haven't relied on that assumption since the first time Daemon appeared. Back then, we knew so little about the nature of the Digimon that such miracles seemed so automatic. Now that we've researched all these facets of the Digital World, we know how extremely fortunate we were that we all survived. Call it fate or destiny if you want... but a lot of the time it was just blind luck keeping us alive."

Shaking his head, Izzy continued, "We were absolutely oblivious back then. We weren't fighting to save the world: it was basic survival. No matter how TK spun it in his books, or how glamorously we were portrayed on TV, truth is we were just seven scared children trying not to die. Now I have no doubt that D-Reaper can be defeated. But as TK said- we're not kids anymore. When you tell us to hope for dynamic digivolution and such, that sets us back forty years to when we were just barely surviving without any clue as to what was keeping us alive. I am afraid to go back to that."

"You guys are missing the point," Takato murmured, his head still down, "We know more about D-Reaper now than we did last time. We beat it last time and we should be strong enough to beat it again this time."

"I didn't say we wouldn't," Izzy replied, "I just think it's fair to acknowledge that we are all very, very scared right now."

"D-Reaper has a source." Takato raised his voice slightly. "A human source."

Matt nodded, but his reply was cold. "I think we have our hands full as it is. We can't worry about trying to make a rescue."

"I'm assuming D-Reaper has to be weakened somehow before we can try anything?" Cody asked.

Takato nodded. "But whoever's in there is going through something awful because of us. And we don't even know who it is."

Izzy hesitated at first, but finally said, "It probably doesn't help ease the pain, but I would imagine that D-Reaper needs to keep the source alive at all costs. So when we do get around to rescuing, there will be somebody to left to rescue. Right?"

"Yes," Jeri answered, very quietly, "In a matter of speaking."

Joe grimaced, his eyes squarely fixed on the floor. "I hate to suggest this, especially in front of Jeri, but as an absolute last resort- is it feasible to eliminate the source?"

"No," Jeri replied immediately.

Joe looked up at her, quickly putting his hands up. Hurriedly, he said, "I'm only saying that if it gets really desperate and we're out of-"

"It won't work," Jeri interrupted, stepping forward, "D-Reaper will protect the source at all costs, and any attempts to attack the source directly will be repelled. Believe me... I tried."

"But you-" Joe looked up at Jeri and stopped himself. Her eyes answered his question.

Matt muttered, "It's that bad, isn't it?"

A loud chime echoed through the room. While it startled everybody, it shook Matt the most since the sound originated from behind his chair. Matt jumped up and looked at it.

"I didn't touch it!" Matt squeaked, holding his hands up.

"Is that Riley's?" Izzy asked, claiming Matt's chair and opening the laptop on the desk behind it. "I'll take care of this."

Still standing, Matt sighed and addressed the room. "Anyway, I don't think we should get too worked up over the source. We don't know who it is, and I don't see any way of finding out. So it's probably best not to worry about it."

"No," Takato replied. He stood and walked to the door. "I need to know who it is."

"Where are you going?" Joe asked.

Takato opened the door and looked back at Joe. "To find out."

After the door shut behind him, the group looked at each other, all trying to figure out what Takato meant. "How does one find out?" Cody thought aloud.

Matt looked at the Tamers. "One of you might want to, uh..."

Rika nodded. "Yeah, I'll watch him."

Just as Rika left, Izzy mumbled, "My God..." His eyes had become wide and a faint stream of tears started to run down his cheek.

"What's wrong?" Matt asked, leaning over Izzy's shoulder to get a glimpse of the computer.

Still in awe, Izzy replied, "It's Mari..."

* * *

_Alice389: Are you there?  
RKngel: Who is this?  
Alice389: Riley?  
RKngel: Riley's not here right now.  
Alice389: Who is this? Why are you on her computer?  
RKngel: My name is Izzy. My friends and I are helping Riley with D-reaper.  
RKngel: Are you still there?  
RKngel: Alice?  
Alice389: Dad? Is that you?  
RKngel: Highly unlikely. My daughter's name is Mari.  
Alice389: I am Mari._

Given how quickly the two could type, the whole exchange took less than a minute. Taking it in, however, took longer. Mari had always dreamed of contacting her father again. She had known he was alive, and she knew he was helping Riley and Takato. To accidentally start chatting with him though, even under such dire circumstances, forced such an explosion of emotion that even she had to step back and feel it.

The only reason Mari had helped out with any of this was out of love for her father. Even six years ago when she had contributed her bio-merging theories, she did so with the faint hope that Janyuu and the other researchers could use the MAXIS to restore a connection to the Digital World. At the very least, it would keep the spirit of the digi-destined alive. She had always found it ironic that to help with the project, she had to assume a false identity and deny any connection to the Izumi family. When the whole mess was over, she found the MAXIS without a Digital World and herself no closer to Izzy than before. So she kept trying, denying herself the name Mari Izumi until she had earned it.

Now, only two days after Takato had convinced her to reclaim Mari, she was talking to her father. Whatever serendipitous forces brought them together didn't matter, and both father and daughter made that immediately obvious: within two minutes, both of them had made up for years of absence. Izzy explained how he and his friends lived at the research station, how Takato came into all of this, and of course some of the more interesting developments in his Digital World research. Mari shared her contributions to the first D-Reaper battle. She smiled at Izzy's response: "What was harder? Putting your theories into practice or pretending to be Alice?"

As she stopped typing for a moment, she noticed that the rushing water from the bathroom had ceased: Tally was finished with her shower. That snapped Mari back to reality- as gratifying as it was to chat with her father again, she and Tally needed answers. Mari's fingers snapped back into action as she asked about the current state of D-Reaper.

When Tally emerged from the bathroom, Mari hadn't learned anything new. The group in the MAXIS was just as confounded as Mari and Tally.

"Is that Riley?" Tally asked, holding the towel wrapped around her body. "What does she know?"

"It's my father. They know little more than we do."

"It's Izzy?" Tally gasped and approached the monitor.

"Riley is not available at the moment."

Tally chuckled. "Probably off swearing in a corner somewhere. That's what I'd be doing." She smiled and patted Mari on the shoulder. "But that must be nice to talk to your dad again."

"Yes," was all Mari said.

"So they don't know anything about where the source came from?"

"It isn't Jeri. They know that much." Tally nodded as Mari continued, "But the presence of a source makes the original plan obsolete. One agent took out Zudomon in a single shot."

Tally furrowed her eyebrows. "Is that bad?"

Mari rolled her eyes. "I suppose you still know nothing about Digimon."

"Nope. But I assume that Riley will figure something out. I just wish we could do more on our end."

Both of them frowned. They had vast amounts of data on every subject imaginable within the MAXIS. Finding a practical use for it, however, was fairly difficult at the moment. D-Reaper was strengthening, and at the moment the only way to weaken it was brute strength. Once D-Reaper was losing energy, the data was crucial to eliminating it. Until that time, Tally and Mari were merely spectators.

Regardless, Tally smiled at Mari. "At least you finally got a chat with Dad." Tally's eyes appeared to water slightly.

"I asked him to put your husband on," Mari replied.

"TK?" Tally grimaced and stepped back, putting a hand up. "Oh, that's okay. I, uh... need to change."

Mari maintained a straight face. "It's not a video conference. He can't see you."

Tally smiled awkwardly. "You know... still..."

She had almost reached the door when a tone on the computer indicated a new message. Mari glanced at it, raised an eyebrow, and turned back to Tally. "Apparently, he doesn't want to talk either."

Awkward as it was, Tally's smile fell anyway. Her eyes moistened again.

She huffed. "Figures," she muttered as she marched out of the room.

* * *

The service tunnel looked normal enough as Takato and Veemon entered it. They quickly discovered that the illusion was due to the sunlight illuminating the entrance. The farther they went, the more ominous it seemed. Apparently, with the city evacuated, it had been deemed unnecessary to fully light the tunnel. As a result, only a few bare light bulbs lit the way. The only other light source came from above; splotches on the ceiling were giving off a faint red glow. Occasionally, a small splash of chaos would fall to the ground. Without a doubt, they were walking under D-Reaper.

Veemon watched a glob of chaos form a puddle on the floor. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked, "This place gives me the willies."

Takato continued walking, eyes straight ahead. "This is the only way to get inside."

"Inside what?" Veemon stepped ahead of Takato, turned around, and walked backwards, glancing from side to side. "Secret base where they keep the prisoner?"

"Inside D-Reaper."

Veemon stopped and stepped aside as Takato passed him. "What!" He ran to catch up and then walked alongside Takato, growing more frantic. "You mean we're going inside the blob?"

"I need to know who it is."

The matter was beyond curiosity for Takato. When he made the decision to re-enter this world, he did so for himself. It was a matter of taking responsibility for events in the past. He brought Jeri along for the same reason- the existence of this world and everybody native to it would be defended or rejected once and for all.

He had never considered the introduction of a new human source. The battle was supposed to be Takato and his allies against Yasuo and his forces. Instead, somebody else was suffering because of all this. Takato couldn't live with himself unless he knew who got caught in the middle.

As he and Veemon began ascending to street level, Takato felt a hand on his shoulder. As serious as he had been, he suddenly jumped and turned around. The feat was too much for his legs to handle and he fell to the ground, staring up at Renamon.

"Jeez, where did you come from?" Veemon shouted.

"Sorry to startle you. Rika told me to find out what you are doing," Renamon replied, helping Takato back to his feet.

"I'm finding out who the source is," Takato answered, "Rika has nothing to do with this. Just tell her I have some private business."

Renamon eyed the tunnel's exit. She could make out D-Reaper's interior, along with a few trees standing defiantly in the park. "It doesn't look safe. I wouldn't go in there."

"Well, if you tell Rika where I am, she'll come after me. Then you'll have to go in there."

"Good point."

Takato looked up at Renamon. "I know it's dangerous and a little reckless. Probably stupid too. But I need to find out who Yasuo dragged into all this. I don't want anyone else getting hurt because of me. That includes Rika."

Renamon nodded. "Very well. Be careful. I'll keep her in the viscinity in case you need help."

"Thanks," Takato replied as Renamon vanished. He looked down at Veemon, staring in awe at the spot Renamon had been at. "You don't mind dangerous, reckless and stupid, right?"

Veemon shook his head, turned to Takato and smiled brightly. "You haven't met Davis, have you?"

They shared a laugh and continued out of the tunnel, into the park.

* * *

The fourth agent wasn't as large or as powerful as Pendulum Feet. Five of them, however, were just as dangerous as they all rapidly fired on Garudamon. Their attacks were not strong enough to subdue the U-Level, however, and Garudamon was able to blast them away efficiently. Unfortunately, that only summoned more to the fray.

"How long are we supposed to keep this up?" Gargomon asked as he took potshots from the ground.

"Until we get our act together, I guess," Henry replied, observing the battle from a safe distance with Sora and Kari.

"Knowing Riley, that may take a while," Sora added.

Gatomon stood in front of the humans, ready to pounce on anything headed in their direction. "I can keep this up for hours," she said.

"You're not the one firing at these things!" Gargomon replied, raising his voice over his constant spray of bullets.

Henry frowned and shook his head. "Moumantai, Gargomon."

"What the hell does that mean!"

"He does have a point," Kari said, "We can't keep this up for an entire shift."

Sora winced as Garudamon took another hit from the agents. "Matt will think of something. And we still have Hououmon and Angewomon if things turn bad."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

Sora raised an eyebrow at Kari. It took her a moment to figure out what Kari was implying. "Why? What's your synch level with Gatomon?"

"270."

Blinking, Sora muttered, "Oh shit."

"What's the problem?" Henry asked.

"Kari needs a synch of 300 for Gatomon to digivolve on command," Sora explained.

"Well, if Kari's in trouble, I'm sure-"

"That whole getting in trouble part... that's the problem," Kari replied with a nervous grin, "I'm not as mobile as I used to be."

During the discussion, Gatomon noticed Rika approaching. "Hey, Rika's coming. Hope Henry doesn't mind another girl in the group."

"Since when was Rika considered a girl?" Henry folded his arms and glared at her. She noticed it and responded with her own fiery stare.

Once close enough, she turned to Sora and Kari and asked, "Have you seen Takato around?"

Sora shook her head. Kari replied, "No, why?"

"Gogglehead walked out. Said he was going to find out who D-Reaper's feeding off of."

Kari furrowed her eyebrows. "He can find out?"

"He'd have to go inside D-Reaper," Henry said in a low voice, "That's suicide."

Rika smirked at Henry. "This is Takato we're talking about. I was just hoping he talked to you guys first."

Henry raised his voice. "Well, he's probably in there by now!" he said, hurriedly, "We've got to figure out how he got in and go after him!"

Retaining her smirk, Rika replied, "Covered."

Renamon appeared immediately and her partner asked, "Did you talk to him?"

"Takato doesn't want anyone else hurt, so he's only taking Veemon."

"How is he getting in?" Sora asked.

"Well, there's that service tunnel that leads into the park," Henry replied.

"You didn't hear that from me," Renamon added.

Rika cracked her knuckles. "Who's up for a rescue mission?"

Gatomon raised a paw and said, "Hold on, if he doesn't want us chasing him, he probably has a good reason. Besides, Garudamon and Gargomon have their hands full already."

"Gatomon's right, but what if we moved our battle closer to the park and worked on a way to get him out from there?" Kari said.

Sora nodded. "Yeah. If it doesn't work, Matt can have TK or Cody go in through the tunnel."

Henry started to walk away. "Sounds like a plan, but we'd better get moving. I don't know how long Takato can last in there."

* * *

Most of the park still remained as Takato and Veemon passed through. Takato noticed a playground that had lost a few structures and had to tiptoe around a few puddles of chaos on the grass, but he could wander through the area without worrying about immediate obliteration.

Not that the place looked friendly, though. They were in a dome of chaos, the ceiling standing a mere fifteen feet above the ground. In the distance, red splotches oozed up the sides of buildings, with electric sparks flashing across the landscape like lightning. A distant rattle of machine gun fire clued Takato in to where Henry and the others were fighting. The interior wall of D-Reaper flowed towards the battlefield- lending energy to where it was most needed.

Takato wasn't worried about Henry. He was here for one reason. There was no clear way of asking about the source's identity, but that wasn't about to stop Takato.

"Who's in here?" he shouted. The shout was met by dead silence; even his echo was absorbed and dissolved by the chaos.

Veemon looked around nervously. "I'd say we are."

Takato ignored him. "Come on out and gloat about your new victim."

"Who are you talking to?"

"The first agent."

Veemon's eyes became wider. "Agent? You mean like that thing that took out Zudomon!"

"Yep. Except this one's a lot more dangerous," Takato replied, turning his head quickly to prevent a surprise appearance.

Finally, the reply came in the form of a girl's voice, echoing throughout:

"Koji."

Takato tensed up immediately. With the loud echo, he couldn't recognize the voice. Regardless of who it was, the reply was disturbing enough.

He gulped and replied, loudly and defiantly: "My name's Takato."

"Koji Mathews from New York City." The voice was emotionless and unwavering.

To hear his alias was unsettling enough, but the implications were even worse. Takato may have used the name throughout his entire life in the real world, but only a few relevant people actually knew him as Koji. The list of possible sources had shrunk, but those remaining were particularly concerning.

Veemon, however, remained oblivious to all of this. "I think you got the wrong file, lady," he said, stepping forward and doing his best to face a disembodied voice.

"State your purpose, Koji."

Takato looked up at the red ceiling, starting to reverse its flow away from the exterior battle. Knowing D-Reaper, it was likely some vague rhetorical question, but there was no sense remaining silent. "I'm here to find out who you've got captive this time," he answered.

"That is incorrect," she replied, "Your purpose was to fool seven children into believing that their parents did not die twelve years ago."

"What?" Veemon replied, scratching his head.

"What does that have to do with anything!" Takato shouted back. If this D-Reaper was Yasuo's doing, Takato could only wonder why it would bring up the letters. After all, according to Yasuo, Koji was never supposed to exist.

"You have fulfilled your purpose in the world," replied the voice. This time, however, Takato noticed that it sounded more tangible, as if it actually originated from somewhere. As the echo became less dominant, the voice also became more recognizable.

"Therefore, Koji Mathews..." Takato turned to the origin of the voice. Behind a tree, a tall figure emerged. It was vaguely human, but with pale blue skin, small wings, and the requisite umbilical cable connecting it to D-Reaper. The face, however, was certainly inspired by humans. One human in particular. Koji had already matched the voice to the human and his knees were already beginning to buckle as he stared up at the face of Michi Grant.

"Since you no longer have a purpose, it is my purpose to destroy you," she said, still in that cold, unwavering impersonation of Michi.

Takato fell to his knees, helplessly staring up at the approaching agent. Yes, this was what he had come for, but it was a matter of necessity. He neeed to know who was being thrown into harm's way. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to end up in trouble because of him. Seeing Michi's face in the first agent, now bearing spiteful eyes and a disfigured grin, was too much for him to handle.

"I've heard enough," Veemon muttered, charging after the agent crying "Vee Headbutt!"

With her grotesquely long arm, the agent slapped Veemon away and continued to approach Takato.

Takato couldn't stand to look at her, much less stand at all. He knew she was coming, and she had already declared her intention to kill him, but he couldn't move. Takato could only stare at the concrete below him, trying to trace how Michi could have ended up here. He regretted not chasing after her when she ran from the hotel. He regretted not demanding that Riley let him find her and say goodbye. Above all, he regretted dragging her into this without making sure she was securely out. No matter how it happened, the pain she was surely going through was his fault.

"Takato..." Veemon moaned as he crawled towards him. Takato still didn't look up, and would have been at D-Reaper's mercy had Veemon not stepped between his partner and the agent. Veemon stared up at her and shouted, "You want to destroy him, you're going through me first!"

"Very well," the agent replied coldly as she grabbed Veemon by the neck and hoisted him up.

* * *

The number of pestering Bubbles agents started to wane as Sora and the others safely arrived at the edge of the park.

"I don't think they followed us," Sora said, turning back as Kari and Gatomon brought up the rear.

Henry scratched his chin. "That's odd. Back there, whenever we killed them, more came out." He paused as Garudamon blew the last few away, then added, "So either D-Reaper doesn't think it's worth spending energy on us..."

Rika finished the thought, "Or it's busy worrying about another battle."

Sora turned to Rika. "You mean... Takato?" She pointed to the mass of chaos. Rika nodded.

Kari was staring into the park at D-Reaper with a blank look on her face. Eyes wide open, she started walking up to it. "Something's definitely going on in there," she murmured.

Wasting no time in running after Kari, Sora put a hand on her shoulder. "Watch it, Kari. I don't like the idea of you getting too close to evil red blobs, okay?"

"But Takato's in trouble," Kari replied, a growing sense of urgency in her voice. She tried shaking herself away, but her crutches prevented her from going anywhere.

Still restraining Kari, Sora turned back to Rika and Henry. "Okay kids, you know this thing better than we do. How do we get inside?"

"That depends on whether or not you want to get out in one piece," Henry replied, "I don't know if we have the firepower if you do."

"Let's find out." Rika grinned and commanded, "Renamon- hit it right in front of Kari at ground level."

As she obeyed with her Diamond Storm attack, Sora ordered Garudamon to follow up with a Wing Blade. The combination of attacks made a little indentation in D-Reaper, but not anything useful.

"It's no good," Kari said, shaking her head, "It's not responding to those attacks."

"Try it again," Rika ordered. Renamon and Garudamon attacked again, but the effect was insubstantial.

Sora sighed, momentarily letting go of Kari, who immediately started walking forward again. "Kari, I'm serious. Don't get so close," said Sora, sounding more condescending than concerned.

Kari stopped about ten feet in front of the small wedge in D-Reaper. "Sora, we need to do something now. I don't think Takato will make it much longer."

"How can you tell?" Rika asked.

"Oh, she can tell," Sora muttered in response. Raising her voice, she said, "Kari, let's just call Matt. Patamon and Armadillomon are healthy and they're better suited to go in."

Kari didn't respond. She closed her eyes and placed a hand on top of her chest, resting her other hand over it.

Sora and Henry stood silent as they watched her. Rika reached for her cell phone. She said, "I'm going to call-" before Sora shushed her.

Nobody said anything further as they waited for Kari. Not even as Gatomon began to glow. Everybody saw it happen, but were completely speechless as she digivolved to Ultimate.

Kari didn't turn around until she heard Angewomon whisper her name. When she did, Kari looked up at the U-Level, her hands still against her chest.

She said one thing to Angewomon: "Please." Then she carefully stepped aside.

"Heaven's Charm!" Angewomon shouted, bringing her outstretched hands together before splitting them apart.

The attack of light blasted the sea of red, parting the chaos enough to forge a walkway to the park. On the other side, Takato was down on his knees as an ugly humanoid agent held Veemon up by the throat.

"That's our cue," Rika spat, charging through the gap with Renamon quickly following.

"Give them some cover!" Sora shouted.

Gargomon opened fire, protecting Rika with a tunnel of bullets. The only attack that got through was Garudamon's, who launched a Wing Blade directly at the first agent. Not anticipating the attack, the agent took it head on, screamed and threw Veemon to the ground. It took one look at the group, backpedaled and disappeared.

Henry smiled. "So much for Gatomon not digivolving on command," he said to Sora.

Sora's smile was more smug. "That wasn't on command. That was dynamic." Henry frowned and raised an eyebrow as Sora shook her head. "Leave it to Kari to arouse a dynamic digivolution purely out of concern for somebody else."

"Hurry up, Rika! I can't hold it much longer!" Angewomon shouted, struggling to keep the gap open.

Rika didn't need an order to hurry. She sprinted to Takato and Veemon, managing to keep pace with Renamon. Takato was breathing heavily, a mixture of tears and sweat falling from his face. Veemon was clutching his neck, desperately gasping for air.

Rika started with Takato, carefully draping his arm around her shoulder and forcing him to his feet. He wasn't cooperating, however, and her grip loosened. Fortunately, Renamon took his other arm and held him up. Rika managed to scoop up Veemon and they turned around.

Of course, with two helpless passengers, running was out of the question. "Takato? Are you okay?" Rika asked.

She thought she heard him mumble something along the lines of "Michi," but the lack of a coherent response was answer enough.

As they struggled to get Takato and Veemon through the gap, Angewomon began to lose control.

"I'm losing it!" shouted Angewomon. Everybody heard it, but with Gargomon and Garudamon preventing further agent attacks and Kari, Sora and Henry waiting just outside the gap, they had no answer.

"They'll never make it back in time," Sora said. To reiterate the fact, the chaos started to fill in, narrowing the walkway.

"Just a little more, Angewomon!" Kari shouted.

"I can't!" Angewomon replied.

"Shit..." Henry muttered, walking away for a moment.

"Henry, get back up here!" Sora ordered. Henry ignored the command, instead reaching into his pocket.

He pulled out a deck of cards and started flipping through them.

"Gargomon, you're pretending to be my partner, right?" he asked.

"I suppose. Why?"

Henry dropped all but one card, produced his D-Power and turned around. "Just go with it."

"With what!"

"Digi-Modify!" he shouted, running the card through the slot, "Poison Ivy activate!"

Gargomon's eyes widened and his mouth fell open as his arms transformed into a cluster of vines. As he was already firing into the tunnel, the vines immediately shot forward.

"Grab them!" Henry ordered. Rika and Renamon clutched Takato and Veemon tightly as the vines wrapped themselves around the four.

"Now what?" asked a frantic Gargomon.

"PULL!" shouted Henry... as well as Sora, Kari, and Angewomon.

Gargomon jerked his arms back, forcing the vines to retreat, hurling the two Tamers and two Digimon out of the gap. As soon as they were out, the gap closed and Angewomon reverted back to Salamon.

Rika and Renamon crashed to the street in front of Gargomon, whose vines soon turned back into guns. He fell backwards on his rear and yelled, "Never do that again!"

Letting go of Takato and Veemon, Rika sat up. Still catching her breath, she glared at Henry and angrily muttered, "Had to wait until the last minute, huh?"

Henry rolled his eyes and folded his arms. "Shut up, Rika, you know I'm not letting you kill yourself."

Sora looked at Gargomon, then at Henry. "How did you know that was going to work? You're not really Gargomon's partner. Er... Tamer."

Eyeing Sora for a moment, Henry broke into a smile. "Same reason Kari knew Gatomon would digivolve, I guess."

"I didn't know Gatomon would digivolve," Kari replied with a straight-face as she bent down over Takato.

"My point exactly."

Takato's heavy breathing continued as Kari looked him over. Sora pulled out a phone. "I'd better call Joe," she told Kari, "What's wrong with him?"

Kari furrowed her eyebrows and looked up at Sora. "Nothing. He's not injured."

"Looks like Veemon took all the damage," Henry added.

Sora held the phone out, but didn't dial. "I wonder what happened. He's been through worse things."

Rika looked down at Takato. His eyes stared straight up into the air. She snapped her fingers in front of them. "For all that trouble, I sure hope he found out who the damn source is."

"Michi," he mumbled through staggered breaths.

Sora was busy dialing something on the phone. She glanced up at Kari, passively interested. "What did he say?"

As Sora finished dialing and started talking to Matt, Kari leaned forward as Takato kept mumbling, "It's my fault... I never should have left her..."

Kari sighed and patted him on the head. "It's not your fault. Just calm down, alright?"

"I thought she was safe. Riley said she was with Yolei. But no... she's in there. Michi's in there..."

Kari backed away, still staring at Takato. She gulped and said, weakly, "Sora?"

It was loud enough to bring Sora over. She sat on her knees, moving the phone away from her mouth. "What's he saying?" she asked Kari.

"Michi..." he mumbled again.

Sora's face suddenly became pale. Her mouth fell open, silent for a few moments before she whispered, "Michi? My Michi?"

Takato's eyes slowly turned to meet Sora's. Tears continued to stream down. "I'm sorry," Takato said.

Sora dropped the phone. As it fell against the concrete, Kari heard Matt's voice through it. She picked it up. "Sora? Are you there?" cried a worried Matt.

"This is Kari."

"Is everything all right?"

"In a sense," she replied. As Sora's eyes started to water, Kari's did as well.

"Good. Sorry you guys had to go through all that. We tried to tell Takato that it didn't matter who the source was, but-"

"No, Matt..." Kari bit her lip before answering, "It matters."

* * *

Michi opened her eyes, but wasn't completely sure if she was awake. She was in a small, enclosed area- the untextured pink dome surrounding her made it hard to call it a room. She did not remember how, where, or if she fell asleep, only that her present surroundings were unfamiliar and there was no way she arrived by her own will. She neither heard nor smelled anything, but could feel her arms resting on her torso and her constricting jeans.

She sat up, setting her hands on the soft surface below. Wherever she was, she was alone. The lack of any door made her wonder if there was any way in or out.

"Hello?" Michi called out, with not even an echo answering back. "Where am I?" she added, again with no reply. She was growing frustrated by the lack of any answers. Nothing in her bubble gave her any clues from where she sat, and she thought about standing up and looking more closely. This was when she noticed that she lacked the energy to do so. Michi felt incredibly tired, and laid down once more.

"What am I doing here?" she asked, facing up at the pink ceiling. She yawned once, not expecting a reply.

It came anyway, sounding like her own voice echoed back: "This is your purpose."

She was surprised to hear the reply, and more surprised by the actual response. As far as she knew, she had no purpose, and that was the whole problem. She certainly wasn't doing anything here, yet she was allegedly fulfilling a purpose. Either that was a morbid joke or bizarre irony.

Michi was tempted to yell something back to get more information, but found herself content with closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep. She knew this unfamiliar situation was somehow wrong, but for some reason the ominous atmosphere made her feel at peace.

* * *

At first, Yolei didn't want to disturb Ken as he sat dejectedly on the couch. It bothered her enough that he had come home so early in the afternoon. The real issue, of course, was that he had returned without Michi.

She didn't need to ask him what had happened. It was exactly what Yolei had feared- Yasuo caught Michi on something and was detaining her indefinitely. Yolei wasn't about to stroll in with a gigantic 'I told you so' and scold him for not listening. This was beyond one of their mundane arguments: they had dropped the ball and now Michi was in serious trouble.

She had to do something, however. Although the severity of the situation prevented her from chastising Ken, she was still quite pissed. She had to release that anger somehow, and Ken was the only logical target. With no intention of starting an argument, she marched into the room and stood in front of him. He looked up, eyes drooping and his mouth trying to find the right way to apologize.

Obviously, Ken knew Yolei was right. Yolei understood that, forgave him, and only wanted to make him feel better. Ever the peacemaker, she slapped him across the face.

That opened his eyes, and he rested a hand on his cheek as he turned back to her. His eyes started to droop again, wordlessly accepting the punishment.

"Stop it, Ken!" she shouted, ready to give him another one if he continued moping. "Okay, so you screwed up. Right now you can't worry about that. This isn't something stupid like forgetting to get Miho an anniversary present. We need to get Michi back."

Ken's eyes were wide open now, but the frown on his face was still discouraging. "How do you expect to do that? Yasuo wouldn't even tell me what she was guilty of. Forget about locating her and getting her out. Not without Yasuo sniffing us out and throwing us in there too."

Yolei shook her head. It was the same story- big, evil Yasuo preventing them from doing anything remotely subversive. This was different, however. Michi was innocent, and Yolei was determined not to lose her. "I don't care anymore. She didn't do anything wrong, and I won't let him snuff her out. Whatever he does to us is worth it as long as Mimi gets Michi back."

Ken stood, forcing Yolei to step back. "Are you sure? Yolei, I'd be with you, but I don't want Chiaki and Masayuki to-"

"And Michi doesn't matter?" she interrupted, "Mimi trusted us to take care of Michi and we let her down."

"No, I let her down."

Yolei nodded. Raising her voice, she said, "Yes. This is entirely your fault. But the important thing right now is getting her back. If you're not going to do it, I will."

"No," Ken said, sounding much more level than Yolei. "I'm not letting you do this alone... we'll have to work together."

Yolei smiled. Ken sat back down and rubbed his palms. "First thing we need to do is figure out exactly what's going on. That means finding out who Koji is. Riley's not helping us out, but if you're really willing to put your neck on the line, it doesn't matter who we talk to."

"Good," Yolei replied, walking to the coat closet. "I'm going to Odaiba."

"Now?" Ken sounded surprised. "Why?"

Yolei smiled at him as she retrieved a jacket. "I haven't talked to Aya in weeks. Thought I'd pay a visit."

Ken smiled back. "Good idea. If those two were trying to visit the kids of each Chosen and they were staying in Odaiba, odds are they'd start with Mari."

As Yolei put the jacket on, Ken had an afterthought: "But is Aya back from her trip?"

Yolei sighed as she zipped the coat up. Aya had gone to Germany, but Yolei had no idea when she was due back.

"If she's not there, I'll talk to Mari," she said, sounding less enthusiastic. Getting information from Mari was next to impossible.

"Good luck," Ken replied with a pinch of sarcasm. He walked up to her, they kissed, and she put her shoes on.

"Hold on..." She turned around as Ken apparently had one more thought. "What about dinner? Should I call Maho and cancel?"

Yolei closed her eyes and mentally swore. They were planning on meeting Davis and his wife for dinner. With no idea how long the trip would take, and knowing how exquisite Davis's restaurant selections were, Yolei had already created a conflict.

"No, let's meet with them. Davis talked to Koji and Michi; maybe he knows something we don't," she replied decisively.

Ken nodded. "Try not to be too late."

"I make no guarantees," she said as she walked out the door.

* * *

The only thing troubling Sora more than having Michi trapped in D-Reaper was the uncertainty over how it happened. Of all the people in these worlds, why did it have to be her daughter? Takato had mentioned something about Michi being involved, but gave no hint that she was in any sort of trouble because of it.

In any event, Matt was in one of the makeshift sleeping quarters, trying to get some information from Takato. Sora waited outside; Takato seemed traumatized enough by the turn of events and Matt didn't want to subject him to a frantically worried mother as well. Not wanting to strain Takato further, Sora agreed, but it didn't make her any less frantic.

The door opened and Matt exited, his head facing down as he quietly closed the door behind him.

"Well, what did he say?" Sora asked, struggling to keep her voice down.

"He doesn't know," Matt mumbled, "Seems pretty upset about it though."

"So what now?"

He sighed and replied, "Nothing's changed."

She couldn't contain her voice any longer. "What do you mean nothing's changed? Michi's in there! We have to-"

Matt refused to look up at her. "We still can't do anything unless we weaken it first. There's no shortcut just because it's Michi. It's still going to be just as difficult as if it was anybody else."

"Matt..." Tears started to flow.

Matt took two steps forward and embraced his wife, letting Sora cry into his shoulder. "You should lie down too. I don't want you doing something stupid like Takato did."

"How am I supposed to relax with Michi in there?" she sobbed.

"Just try to calm down. I'm going to need you later."

She stepped back and looked up at him. "What are you going to do?"

He kept his head down. "I'm going to talk to Riley. See what she knows. Maybe snap her back into action."

Sora had managed to stop crying, but now she found herself clenching her fist. Warranted or not, the notion that anything useful could come of Matt meeting privately with Riley sickened her.

"This is all her fault. She pulled us into this," she said bitterly.

"We agreed to it. We all wanted to help Takato."

She sniffled and replied, "TK was right. This was a mistake. We were so eager to help that we let ourselves end up in a situation we didn't understand."

"That's why we need Riley," Matt replied. He shook his head and started walking down the hallway.

Sora wasn't satisfied. She calmed down enough to ask, "Aren't you at all worried?" Her voice was low, but direct enough to make him stop. "Matt, that's your daughter. Aren't you scared about what might happen to her?"

"No," he said defiantly, "We're going to beat this thing."

"How can you be so sure?"

"This isn't about Takato anymore. Not him, or whatever reason Riley has for saving this place." Finally, he turned around and looked her in the eyes. "We will get Michi back. No matter what."

* * *

Too unsettled to take Matt's advice and lie down, Sora went downstairs. In the control room, everybody seemed to be having quiet conversations: Joe and TK with Jeri, Henry and Kazu with Kari and Cody, and to Sora's surprise- Biyomon with Izzy.

"B..." Sora stopped as all eyes fell on her. She could see the sympathetic looks on everyone's face, but nobody was talking. She walked up to Biyomon. "What are you doing here? You should be resting with the others."

"I'm not tired," Biyomon replied, "And I'm too worried about Michi."

"Oh..." Sora knew she couldn't object, so she patted her partner on the head.

"You okay?" Izzy asked her as he navigated around some of the maps on file.

"I don't know. I just feel so helpless right now. Matt says we can't do anything rash to save her, but I don't want to sit here while she's going through something terrible."

"Henry! Jeri!" Izzy called out suddenly. He turned to Sora. In a lower voice, he added, "Sorry. I got a little distracted. Hold that thought."

Sora backed away as Henry and Jeri arrived, but kept an eye on Izzy and the map of Shinjuku that appeared on the screen. Izzy said, "I noticed that the chaos tends to rotate in a very slight clockwise direction, suggesting that it diverts energy in a spiral motion. Am I right in thinking Michi would be located at D-Reaper's focal point?"

"Sort of," Henry replied, "Although the source isn't in the chaos."

"Right. Otherwise it would be deleted too."

"She's above the chaos." Jeri pointed to a spot on the screen. "Right there."

Izzy leaned forward, squinting at the point on the map. "Isn't that where you brought us in here?" Henry nodded. "Glad we put that firewall on."

"We should be able to see the tower from the hallway." Cody had snuck into the conversation. He and Kazu left immediately to verify the statement.

"Are you saying you know where Michi is?" Sora asked.

Izzy cleared his throat before answering. "Possibly. Theoretically, she should be at the focal point, which is the tower. But that doesn't make it any easier to get her out."

"It might," Jeri replied, "It is possible to get through its defenses."

"Really?" Izzy raised an eyebrow at Jeri. "What kind of power would it take?"

Henry scratched his chin. "If you can get past all the agents thrown at you and get to the kernal sphere, a strong attack from a Mega-level Digimon would do the trick.

Kari approached the group and said, "Not only that, but Angewomon was very effective against it. MagnaAngemon could do some damage too."

Cody and Kazu burst into the room again. "The big red sphere is in sight," Kazu boasted.

"It's floating right between the towers, just like Jeri said," Cody added.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get her out of there," Biyomon said.

Sora pet Biyomon. Despite a frown, she calmly replied, "Hold on. Matt said we shouldn't rush into anything dangerous. Besides, you just finished battling a little while ago."

"So did D-Reaper," Henry said, prompting Sora and Biyomon to look over at him as he scanned the map. "And between fending off you and Gargomon, forming the first agent and dealing with Angewomon, it's probably worse off than us."

"Come on, Sora," Biyomon pleaded, "I want to save Michi almost as much as you do."

Sora shook her head and closed her eyes. The concept was so tantalizing, but this couldn't have been the right thing. It was exactly what Matt had warned against. "But Matt-"

Joe interrupted. "Matt doesn't know about this, Sora. D-Reaper could be as vulnerable now as it ever will be."

"Where is Matt, anyway?" Cody asked.

"He's talking to Riley," Sora quickly replied.

Izzy narrowed his eyes. "And you're okay with that?"

She glanced away and exhaled. "No, but if anyone's going to get her moving again, it's him."

Izzy turned to the computer and started typing. "For the sake of decency, I won't comment. But the point remains that this may be an excellent opportunity to take the offensive and try to rescue Michi."

"And if we can get her back, we pretty much win," Joe added.

"Sounds good so far, but what kind of Digimon do we have available?" asked Kari.

"Not Gargomon," answered Henry, "And I doubt Salamon is ready to go again either."

Kari shook her head. "No, but what about Biyomon?"

Biyomon fielded this one herself: "If it's to save Michi, I can go mega whenever you need me to."

Sora could almost cry. "Oh, B..." she said, stroking the back of Biyomon's head.

Izzy summarized, "So with Gomamon, Salamon and Gargomon recouping, that leaves Biyomon, Patamon, Armadillomon, Andromon and Leomon."

"What about you?" Cody asked.

"I don't want to throw everything at it at once. I'd like to keep someone in reserve in case of emergency."

"But not all of them can fly," Joe observed, "They won't all be able to get to the tower."

"That's not a problem," Henry replied. He leaned forward and used his finger to diagram a basic strategy. "While Takato was inside, we noticed that D-Reaper had trouble diverting energy from one battle to another. If we had Kazu, Jeri and Cody attack first from the outside and draw a few agents out, Sora and TK can make a run at the sphere."

As Izzy nodded, Joe turned to the back of the room. "What do you think, TK?"

All eyes turned to TK, who had distanced himself from the group but was still listening to the plan. He backed away once the attention fell on him, but replied, "Kari's right. If Angewomon did damage to it, imagine what MagnaAngemon can do. Besides, that's my niece in there. I want her back too. Count me in."

Izzy smiled. "No sense waiting then. TK, you're in charge of this. Stay with the ground troops and send out Hououmon and MagnaAngemon when the time's right.

With a nod, the five sending out Digimon left the room. Biyomon remained close to Sora.

As the group waited for the elevator, Sora took Biyomon aside and said, "I'm not letting you do this alone, B. I'm going with you."

"Are you sure, Sora?"

She turned away for a moment and noticed the tower in the distance. The red sphere was plainly visible. That was the target, and there was no way Sora was letting Biyomon attack it alone.

"I want to be there when we get her out. I want to do this together."

She expected some sort of protest from Biyomon, but instead felt a wing pat her back.

"Then let's do this," Biyomon replied.

Despite the circumstances, Sora smiled.

* * *

Mari called up random pieces of data from the system, doing her best to ignore the weeping Tally sitting nearby. Izzy had just informed them of the source's identity; as it was her niece, Tally was not taking the news well. Mari had neither the capability nor interest in consoling her. She was more interested in finding some useful data that would serve to change the subject. Tally was never afraid to show her emotions, and even less afraid of changing them on a whim. Still, given the dire news about Michi, Mari had to find something good.

To her surprise, she did. Mari had stumbled upon the synch levels between all the humans and their Digimon. "Prodigious," she mumbled as she started converting the raw data into names and numbers.

"What is it?" Tally asked, between sniffles.

"Everybody's synch levels. They appear to be higher in the MAXIS than in the real world."

"Oh," Tally replied, sounding disappointed.

"A few of the Chosen are going into uncharted territory. I don't suppose you know the record high?"

Before Tally could answer no, a series of knocks came from the door. Mari stood up immediately and Tally's tears dried quickly. "Oh shit, who's that?"

"You're looking after the house. You see to it."

Tally nodded and walked out, carefully shutting the door behind her. Mari continued to convert the data, awed by the high numbers. One in particular jumped out at her.

She heard Tally from the other room say, "Well call us next time. You almost gave us a heart attack." That relaxed Mari sufficiently, and she didn't flinch when the door opened. "We have company."

Mari didn't bother to look at who else entered. It was made obvious when Janyuu said, "Tally tells me they have a source."

"Yes," Mari replied, changing the subject just as quickly, "What's the highest synch level attained between a human and a Digimon?"

"Davis and Veemon recorded a 317 once. Why the sudden interest?"

Before Mari could answer, another voice interrupted, "Hey, can I see?" Mari turned immediately as Janyuu stepped aside to let his son enter the room. Henry's mouth fell open as he saw the remarkable arrangement of machines Tally and Riley had cobbled together. "This is ridiculous. And you actually go inside this thing?"

Mari caught herself smiling and dropped it immediately and cooly replied, "Actually, the physical server is located at a university in Europe. But we have hacked into the system and may enter from this point."

"And don't worry. The way things are going, we won't be going in any time soon," Janyuu added. "Anyway, Mari, why were you interested in synch levels?"

"I just discovered the current levels of everybody inside."

"It wouldn't surprise me if a few were higher than 317. For some reason, levels in the MAXIS are higher than in the real world. And don't forget that the Chosen have been with their Digimon for an additional twelve years."

Mari glanced at the screen before turning back to Janyuu. "Still... Sora and Biyomon are approaching 400."

At once, Janyuu bounded forward and stood next to Mari, gazing at the data tables. A few of the levels were rising in front of them. "Do you think it's possible?" he said.

"What's possible?" Tally asked.

Mari ignored Tally and answered Janyuu. "Given the surge in many of the levels, they seem to be entering a battle. If it's going to happen, it's going to happen here."

"Hey, a couple of us don't know what you two are talking about," Henry said, sounding a little annoyed.

"Bio merge," Mari whispered. The words alone were sacred to her, and she focused her eyes on the screen, hoping to see the miracle in action, albeit through a series of data.

Above the trio of Digimon distracting D-Reaper, Hououmon and MagnaAngemon flew towards the true target downtown. Sora rode atop Hououmon, eyes focused on the kernal sphere between the towers. Despite Henry's claim that D-Reaper had trouble attacking two places at once, a swarm of Bubbles agents flew up to greet the offensive.

* * *

"Starlight Explosion!" Hououmon shouted. The attack destroyed several, but the ones remaining quickly opened fire on the phoenix. Hououmon evaded most of the attacks, and the ones that hit did little damage. MagnaAngemon swept in to finish off the rest of that wave. The march to the sphere continued.

Two more waves of Bubbles shot up in a similar manner. Again, Hououmon and MagnaAngemon were forced to slow down to finish them off. While they had no trouble doing so, the rapidly-firing agents were still able to land several shots on the Digimon. By the time they neared the tower, the mighty M-Level winced.

"Are you hurt?" Sora asked.

"Not enough to stop," Hououmon replied.

MagnaAngemon pointed to the chaos below them. "Heads up. Looks like another round. I'll take care of them. You go after Michi."

As Hououmon flew up, though, Sora looked down to see something else attacking MagnaAngemon- the same blue humanoid that had attacked Takato and Veemon. The Michi-Type, as it was formally called, sprung up and punched MagnaAngemon in the stomach and into the tower.

As much as Sora wanted to help, she knew this was her chance to go after her daughter. Hououmon slowed down as he reached the red sphere, close enough for Sora to knock on it. The sphere had a smooth, almost glassy, surface and sounded hollow inside. More importantly, it sounded penetrable.

"Ready, Hououmon?"

Hououmon wordlessly flew back several meters and prepared his attack: "Crimson-"

"Look out!" Sora shouted as soon as she noticed the surprise attack coming from above. Hououmon dodged in time to prevent a direct hit, but the speedy attack clipped him in the wing. Sora held on tight as Hououmon momentarily lost control, but the Digimon recovered and both looked up to see the assailant. Another agent- this one a pair of large, blue hands connected by a small ribcage. One hand was springing back. As it recoiled for another attack, the Creep Hands started crawling down the side of the north tower.

As Hououmon floated back up to the sphere, Creep Hands attacked again. Hououmon dodged, but clearly couldn't get close enough to the sphere to attempt an attack. Sora glanced down and saw MagnaAngemon and the Michi-Type grappling, with the agent holding a slim advantage.

Hououmon attacked the Creep Hands directly, but it dodged easily and shot a hand out in response. With few alternatives, Hououmon descended as Sora considered helping MagnaAngemon and then double-teaming Creep Hands. Another attack by Creep Hands led Hououmon to attempt a dodge, but the hand missed well to the left of the Digimon. Instead, it continued to pursue its true target- MagnaAngemon.

Sora recognized this and shouted. "MagnaAngemon! Up above!" As soon as MagnaAngemon did, the Michi-Type struck, clasping MagnaAngemon by the neck and forcing him directly into the hand's path.

The resulting strike was enough for MagnaAngemon to lose energy. As he started to glow, Sora ordered Hououmon to attack. The resulting Crimson Flame caught the Michi- Type off-guard. As the agent fell into the chaos, it released Patamon, who also started falling. Another command from Sora, and Hououmon quickly swooped down and made the rescue.

"Are you all right Patamon?" Sora asked.

"That lady sure is mean," Patamon replied, seemingly unhurt but clearly not in any position to continue fighting. Still, Hououmon flew back up after the Creep Hands.

Unfortunately, the agent was waiting with an outstretched hand right in Hououmon's flight path. Hououmon couldn't evade it in time and flew into its grasp. The hand closed around it and started to squeeze.

"Sora... I can't get out!" Hououmon screamed.

Sora was trapped as well, and growing uncomfortable pressed against her partner. Somehow, she spotted an opening large enough to fit Patamon through. "Patamon... go get help."

Patamon wasted no time in flying away, but the space grew tighter every moment. While it was the most constraining to Hououmon, the pressure was equally damaging to Sora. Forced against a Digimon with an exhorbitantly high body temperature, her skin was starting to burn. She forced her sweaty hands to clutch Hououmon's back; letting go would force her down to Hououmon's legs, which were unsuccessfully trying to kick a way out.

Just when the heat was making her feel faint, Sora saw Hououmon glow. She closed her eyes and sighed, knowing that one way or another this was going to end soon.

"Sora..." Biyomon cried. Sora opened her eyes. She was no longer uncomfortable, but she was now holding a weak R-Level, still within the grasp of the giant hand. Now with a smaller handful, the agent clenched tighter. All Sora could do was clutch Biyomon and pray.

After a few moments of silence, she heard a shout from outside: "Equus Beam!" In an instant, the hand had dissolved and Sora and Biyomon found themselves in midair.

This time, TK and Pegasusmon made the rescue, as TK caught Sora and guided her onto the saddle. "Everybody okay?" TK asked.

"Yeah," Sora replied, exhausted, as Pegasusmon rode away from the battle. She was tempted to say something else, but she knew it was pointless- she and TK were both thinking the same thing.

This had definitely been an opportunity, and they came away with nothing. D-Reaper clearly had vulnerabilities, but it would take a perfect execution of a perfect strategy with the perfect Digimon to succeed. In the meantime, Michi was still in there suffering, for reasons Sora still didn't know.

Sora clutched Biyomon tighter, silently reassuring her Digimon that they did give it their all. That was the only solace Sora could take out of the battle- that there was nothing else they could have done.

* * *

Tally watched Mari and Janyuu closely as they analyzed the numbers on the screen. Despite her experience with the Hypnos system, she had no idea what the numbers represented. Janyuu started to frown, though, which told her all she needed.

"What is it?" Henry asked.

Janyuu answered, "Many of the synch levels are dropping back to their medians, which means the battle is over."

"No bio-merge?" Tally asked, although she could guess the answer.

Mari shook her head. "Sora is down to her R-Level. No bio-merge indeed."

Janyuu put a hand on Mari's shoulder. "It was highly unlikely to begin with, wasn't it?"

"Perhaps. It depended on how Riley brought the Chosen in. Apparently, her method was not conductive to a bio-merge."

Tally looked down. Sora and Hououmon had attained an extreme level of 409 during the battle: if it had been possible, it would have happened.

Janyuu sighed and said, "Well, unless there's anything else you need, we probably should be going. I just wanted to check in and show Henry around."

"Yeah. Cool setup here. I hope you pull it off," Henry added, already halfway out the door.

Janyuu followed his son outside, leaving Mari and Tally alone. Mari continued to stare at the numbers, although they weren't showing anything hopeful.

"Who are we fooling? We are absolutely helpless on this side," Mari mumbled as she rose from her chair. Walking out, she continued to mutter, "We are spectators watching friends and family kill themselves for our benefit."

Tally frowned. She didn't like to see anybody upset over something they had no control over. Especially when the situation was far from hopeless. "So Sora didn't bio-merge," she said, following Mari out into the living room. "So what? There is a way to stop this thing. We just have to trust them to find it. Remember, your father's in there."

Mari was headed into a bedroom, but stopped and turned around. She narrowed her eyes at Tally, glaring for a full three seconds before replying, "That is exactly the problem. My father and your husband are risking everything because we want our world to play with again. How can we stand to watch them sacrifice themselves again?"

Before Tally could respond, Mari entered the bedroom and slid the door shut.

"She's still not over it," Janyuu observed.

"I don't blame her," Tally replied, forcing a half-smile, "All her life, the only ones she had ever started to care about left her. She's been abandoned so many times, but the reasons had always been so glorious that she has no choice but to abide by them."

"So this is about her dad?" Henry asked.

"That was a long time ago," Janyuu answered, "This is about Dobermon."

**To Be Continued in Stage Six- "Bond"**

**Author's Notes**  
Presenting the digi-destined as adults isn't a new concept, but I think it's important to see how they compare their current adventures to those we're all familiar with. We saw a lot of this in Level 1 with the calm, professional response to Daemon. Now we're seeing the other side, as they are thrown into an unfamiliar situation and show more fear than we're accustomed to seeing. It is also interesting that most of the Chosen refer to the Tamers as kids, despite the fact that Henry, Rika and Kazu are all about nineteen years old by now.

I said that Mari and Tally wouldn't be forgotten, and their situation is plainly illustrated here. Mari's past existence as Alice comes back to light, as well as one of the few references to Dobermon in the story.

As TK hinted at in Level 1, Tally was never big into Digimon. Expect more of her story next time.

Although the agent names were never used in the dub, they were revealed in Japan. I use them to have something to identify with, and descriptive monikers like Creep Hands and Pendulum Feet make it fairly obvious who they are if you remember them from Tamers. Although the rapid-fire Bubbles are unfortunately named (and unfortunately the most common agent). The first agent, originally known as Jeri-Type, has been changed to Michi-Type for obvious reasons.

Briefly mentioned in Level 2, Miho is Ken and Yolei's daughter, the oldest child in the family. While I regret not being able to squeeze her into the picture, the least I could do is mention her in an example of one of Ken and Yolei's mundane arguments.

This ends Level 3: Stage Five of The Connection.


	6. Bond

_**Level 3: Experiments**  
_  
**Stage Six- Bond**

"_I'm going to... talk a walk."_

Her last words to him still echoed in Takato's head. He had known Michi for more than a month, and never saw her as anything other than a strong and capable friend. There was just one exception- that final moment when she saw him with Mari. That was the only time he had ever seen her differently. Whether it was because of him or something that had come out of her conversation with Mima that day, Michi had been thrown off track. Now, she was serving as D-Reaper's source.

That last moment constantly replayed in Takato's head as he lied, alone, in one of the designated break rooms. His only visitor had been Matt, who assured Takato that what happened to Michi was nobody's fault. But what did Matt know? He didn't go to Japan with Takato and Michi. He wasn't in that hotel room either. Although Takato didn't know what triggered Michi to be in such distress, he was confident that regular "New York" Michi, the one that existed before he entered her life, would not have been in enough pain to be useful to D-Reaper.

Takato heard a knock on the door, but didn't respond. Nobody understood what he was going through, therefore there was no point in anyone attempting to comfort him. The door opened anyway; he continued to stare at the ceiling without bothering to see who entered.

"Takato?" he heard the faint voice and recognized it as Jeri's. She shut the door behind her. "Are you going to be okay?"

Her presence didn't help. It only served to remind him that Michi was simply case number two. He was still directly responsible for Jeri becoming the source the first time. She had told him countless times that she didn't blame him for what had happened, but never denied the fact that he could have prevented it. Between everything that had happened since then, there was also no way to deny that Jeri's life had basically been ruined by the experience. That reminded Takato that even if Michi were to be saved, she would have similar hardships afterwards.

"I don't think so," he mumbled.

Jeri dropped to her knees next to him, but he didn't dare look up at her. He had enough trouble dealing with the second girl he helped doom, he didn't want the first.

Without saying a word, Jeri leaned forward and embraced him. She held her head up, though, using her right hand to guide his head onto her shoulder.

"This isn't your fault," she whispered into his ear, "It isn't anybody's fault. This happened for a reason."

He wanted so much to close his eyes and feel better, but he couldn't believe her. Jeri could never fully absolve him after she became the source; she knew nothing about Michi or her situation.

"You didn't know her," he said, softly but with a firm edge to his words, "The way she sounded, she just wanted to come with me for fun. I should have said no. She wasn't prepared for all of this."

Jeri closed her eyes and shook her head, but what surprised Takato was the serene smile on her face. "No... she wasn't. I also remember how she looked that night at the hotel."

Takato's eyes opened wider. He had forgotten who else was in that hotel room- Mari. It seemed like a different reality, but it was real and only a week ago that he and Jeri were known as Koji and Mari.

"Even if it was you and I that brought out the darkness in her, we didn't put it there. Just by looking at her, I could tell that it was something she had been suppressing for a long time. I don't know what it is, but that is feeding D-Reaper. It would have come out eventually. It's just unfortunate that it happened now."

He couldn't fully grasp what Jeri was trying to insinuate, but her words still made an impact. He leaned back and looked up at her. Her smile had vanished long ago, but even her straight face beamed something that surprised Takato- confidence. Right or wrong, Jeri was certain about her thoughts on Michi, and determined to make Takato realize the same thing. That strength, more than the words or gestures themselves, touched him.

He let his head fall into her shoulder again. "So what now?" he whispered.

Gently stroking his hair, she calmly answered, "Now you sleep. The world will still be here when you wake up. We'll make sure of it."

True, this whole mess would also still be here when he woke up, but at the moment he didn't care. He wanted to fall back and fall asleep, but he couldn't: he couldn't let go of any force to let himself fall back because he wasn't exerting any to begin with. Jeri was holding him up.

He looked up again. Confident or not, supporting him or not, she was still in pain. How could she not be with everything going on? "Sorry I brought you here. Sorry to put you through this again."

She shook her head as a faint tear fell. "No... you were right. No matter what this world has done to us, or what will happen to it, it's my home. I belong here."

Jeri closed her eyes and tilted her head slightly to her right. As she leaned forward, Takato felt himself finally falling backwards. His eyes gravitated towards the ceiling as her lips met his. He did not move, he did not blink, and for one brief moment he did not think. His mind was clear as his head met the floor, still cushioned by Jeri's hand.

She released herself from the kiss and stared him in the eyes. Takato could not tell whether she was still in pain- his mind was clear.

"We belong here," she whispered as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

In the other break room, Riley lied on the couch, in no better shape than Takato. She, too, had a companion- Matt, who had been silently sitting at her feet for the longest time. She watched him, intently, waiting for him to turn to her and say something uplifting. Only every time he turned, one look at her sent him away again.

Riley didn't need his body language to tell her that he and the other Chosen were flustered by the turn of events. After drawing them here and doing her best to convince them that this whole operation was infallible, she couldn't possibly face them now. Riley hadn't counted on another source, and while she wouldn't describe their chances as hopeless, they were certainly facing an uphill battle now. She already felt guilty enough for bringing the group in and trapping them here; hearing it directly from them, especially the few that never liked her much to begin with, was too much.

Matt was the exception. While he said nothing, and seemed as dismayed as her over everything, she was still glad to have him there. Whatever Sora or Tai had felt about their brief escapade decades ago, Matt certainly had done his best to turn on his charm and Riley had done little to prevent herself from falling for it. It was ultimately a minor side note in both of their lives, but she was still comforted by the presence of one familiar and friendly face in the room with her.

He still wasn't speaking, though, and it was beginning to bother Riley. She knew he wasn't the most outgoing person, and she had always been a little attracted to that side of him, but it was starting to get ridiculous. Her mind was too overwhelmed and too exhausted to take any sort of a leadership role, but by entering the room Matt had nominated himself to either snap her out of it or take charge himself. He was doing neither, and for a moment that bothered her almost as much as any poor girl stuck inside D-Reaper.

"Well, are you going to say anything or not?" She finally caught herself saying.

He blinked. "I was all set to come in here and chew you out about this whole thing and blame you for letting that thing get Michi and everything... but I can't."

"Michi? She's the source?" Riley sat up and stared at him as he eyed the ground.

"Takato went in and found out." He shook his head. "I don't know what to make of it."

The magnitude finally sank in and she began to fall. She clutched the back of the couch on the way down. "Ken and Yolei were supposed to be watching her," she mumbled.

"Don't worry about it," he muttered.

"What do you mean? That's your daughter."

"And we're going to get her back. That much is given."

Riley was amazed that Matt could seem so complacent over this. Whether it was the twelve years of separation, the quiet confidence that she would be rescued or the general ignorance of what was really happening to Michi, Riley was still calmed by Matt's cool attitude over this. He was right: it didn't change the situation- only increased the stakes.

"I'm really sorry I pulled you all into this," she said.

As he shook his head, Riley noticed a small smile creep on his face. "You know, I don't believe that this world could be dismissed as some sort of rebellious science experiment," he said, "I mean, this world is as real as it gets. And Digimon are here and interacting with really good kids. If this place is responsible for creating Takato and Rika and them, I can see why you find it so special. It's definitely worth saving."

For a moment, Riley found herself smiling. It was hard not to; he had echoed almost all of her feelings. At the same time, though, it didn't solve the main problem:

"Think the rest of them will buy that?"

"They already do. Takato really made an impression on us, and we're all too stubborn to mope around and let the world end. It's just a matter of boosting their spirits."

Riley sighed. She had always been about planning and execution. Boosting morale was never her strong point; that was more Tally's department.

Just as Riley noticed that Matt still had that little smile, it vanished. Come to think of it, spirit had never been his forte either.

"So how do you boost their spirits with your daughter captive?" she asked, grimly.

"No idea," he muttered, "I wish Tai were here."

Riley turned away. As the only honest link between her and the Chosen, Tai would have been a great rally flag. However, as his wife, Riley had a different relationship with him than the other Chosen. This difference was significant here because of some very intense feelings she had about the MAXIS. Feelings she wasn't sure she wanted to share.

Matt shook his head and continued his thought. "He'd have us all convinced this was in the bag. That thing could be the size of Tokyo and he'd still think we were winning."

"You know, in a way, Tai is here," Riley said, choosing her words carefully. Matt turned to her, making her all the more nervous. "As you said, this world should have been exactly what Tai would have wanted. Between the attitudes of the Tamers and the way we're all trying to fight back against Yasuo..." She lost momentum suddenly and trailed off. She couldn't end with her true opinion. Instead, she concluded with a weak "Don't you think?"

Matt smiled again. "I can see where you're coming from. Yeah, Tai would like this place." He stood up and didn't notice her frown. "So let's go save it."

Riley sat up, still frowning. "I wish it were that easy. Unfortunately, most of our plans are currently useless now that D-Reaper has a source."

"Your point?" Matt said, this time with a half-smile.

Riley stared back. It was a typically reckless statement; she would have lectured him on proper planning had she not been so charmed by it.

Leaning against the back wall, Matt explained: "Remember back at your wedding reception when I threw Sora at Tai to steal a dance with you?"

She opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out. It certainly was a random flashback.

"I remember saying something along the lines of my feelings for you being just simple physical attraction, while Tai actually loved you."

"Uh huh?" Riley replied, still not guessing at its relevance.

"I lied." A broad smile flashed on Matt's face. "Riley, do you remember the way you ran Tai's campaign for Digital World ambassador? Nobody on Earth had a clue how a Digital World election was going to work, or even if it would work. And then you just charge in and help Tai run away with the thing." Matt shrugged. "So we don't know what D-Reaper's capable of. It's never stopped you before."

Riley smiled and stood up. He was right about all of that- she had always handled the unpredictable well. With a motivated support team of seven Chosen and five Tamers, she would just have to do it again.

Hugging him, she said, "Remember when you said that and I agreed with you? That you and I were just skin-deep?"

"Yeah?" he replied, releasing her. "Were you lying too?"

She headed to the door, turning back once to reply, "Not at the time."

* * *

To Ken, an evening of fine dining didn't seem to be a fitting punishment for his mistakes. He was surrounded by lavishly-dressed people enjoying lavishly-expensive food, while he was still coming to terms with the fact that he had just delivered Mimi's stepdaughter to Yasuo. 

In the midst of the whole mess, he had missed lunch. Therefore, he was famished, and sipped his wine impatiently as he waited for his wife.

Ken's present company was not distracting him very well. Davis and Maho Motomiya were also growing restless at the absence of Yolei, only they were showing it by trading equally benign stories with each other. Davis always managed to put some zest into his tales from atop the corporate ladder; Maho, on the other hand, was never much of a storyteller. The love of Davis's life turned out to be someone nobody had expected- a calm, rational and intelligent woman.

Unfortunately, compared to Davis she was also quite boring. Thankfully, as soon as Maho stopped talking, Davis jumped in. "Hey, is something bugging you?" he asked Ken.

Ken sighed. He didn't want to bring it up until Yolei had arrived, but he couldn't wait any longer: "Is there anything else about Koji and Michi that I should know about?"

Davis hesitated, then looked down at his drink. A chuckle escaped before he replied, "They are legit. Let's just leave it at that."

It was the same answer Ken received when the two had arrived. "What do you mean by that, Davis? You know what kind of danger they would be in if they were up to something."

Davis smiled. It was that trademark cocky smile that had won him so many admirers. "Exactly how it sounds, Ken. They are legit." Nodding, he added, "They are legitimately up to something."

Ken's eyes widened and he almost dropped his wine glass. Maho glanced at Davis, then buried her face in her hands.

"The whole reason Chiaki set that meeting up was for you to make sure they weren't up to something. We needed to know so we could stop them before they did anything risky," Ken said.

Davis pointed to Ken, still smiling. "Here's the problem with that, Ken. What if they were up to something so awesome that it was worth the risk?"

Ken shook his head. His hand was also shaking. "Their lives are in danger. I don't see-"

"It's that awesome."

Ken stopped shaking and leaned in. He needed to hear Davis explain this. Not that he doubted Davis's decision, but because the rationality was likely so profoundly insane that only Davis could have seen it.

"I wanted them to put their lives on the line. I told them they were. And they were happy to jump right in. That's how big this was."

Ken sighed. "Okay... so what's the big secret?"

"Turns out there's still a few Chosen protecting the Digital World after all."

Ken closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. Davis may have tried to make it sound like a big revelation, but it wasn't the first time the issue had arisen. It seemed like a lot of build-up for old news.

"Are you talking about Kari and them?" Maho asked.

"Yep," Davis replied, "Koji and Michi were delivering the news personally. Sorry I couldn't tell you, but I didn't want Yasuo to think you weren't telling him something."

"Davis, we've all figured out by now that we haven't been getting the whole story," Ken said, "The circumstances are too suspicious and Yasuo has been too paranoid. But do you really think spreading around a bunch of rumors again will help?"

"How about conclusive proof directly from the seven?"

"What, from before they were sent to New York?"

Davis smiled again. "How about straight from the Digital World?"

Ken planted both his hands on the table and leaned over it to face Davis. "They got a message through?"

"Better. They got Koji through."

"How? We can't get anyone through the barrier; I can't imagine them being able to get anybody out."

Davis shrugged. "Didn't ask. I don't sweat the details." He tilted his head at his wife. "That's Maho's job."

Maho chuckled. Ken sunk back in his seat and clutched his forehead again. "Davis, how do you know Koji was telling the truth? It's so unlikely. He could have been lying for any number of reasons."

"True. For all we know, he could have been saying it just to get into Michi's pants," Maho said, smiling at Davis. "Sounds like something you'd try."

"Hey, no making fun of Davis without me!" The trio all found Yolei approaching the table. Surprisingly exuberant, she sat down next to Ken and smiled. "Sorry I'm late."

"How did it go?" Ken asked, as he poured wine into her glass.

"Great," Yolei boasted, before scrutinizing the bottle Ken was holding. "Maho, I thought you were keeping his checkbook under control. What's with this wine?"

Maho shrugged. "I couldn't stop him. We need to get together more often like this."

As Yolei downed a healthy gulp of her drink, Davis asked her, "So where were you?"

"Oh..." Yolei chuckled and set her glass down, "I just had a lovely chat with Aya."

Davis held up a hand. Although he smiled, he was definitely serious when he said, "If it was about a certain big revelation she and Mari heard last week, I already know."

Yolei raised her eyebrows, her smile fading. "You already know about you-know-who not being you-know-what?"

Davis nodded. "And they're you-know-where? Old news to me."

"So Aya found out from Michi and Koji?" Ken asked.

"Nope," Yolei replied, taking another drink, "Turns out your online girlfriend Riley Kamiya was in town yesterday."

Ken's eyes widened. Yolei didn't stop. "She had a boy with her, and Aya says Mari introduced him as Koji."

"So Riley's involved with all this now?" Maho asked.

"Yeah, apparently." Yolei huffed, "I don't like her doing this. Especially getting Michi involved."

Ken was just angry that if she was on the ground floor, Riley had never shared any information with him. With Yolei hearing the news from Aya, Ken was officially the last to know what was going on. However, he didn't feel that voicing this would be productive, and let the conversation pause as the waitress served the main course.

Before Yolei could comment on what Ken had ordered for her, he made another observation: "Honey, you said Koji was with Riley?"

Yolei turned to Ken, narrowing an eye. "Aya did, yeah. So he must have gotten out somehow."

"Out from where?" Davis asked.

Ken sighed and explained, "Last week, Koji and Michi were separated by something. Chiaki found Michi and brought her to us, but she's been so distraught over the whole thing that we didn't get any information. I found out that Koji was picked up a day or two later, and Yasuo made us bring Michi in this morning."

Davis's mouth fell open and he started to bow his head. "If he found out half of what they told you, she's in a lot of trouble right now," Ken said, grimly.

"Wait... those two told you what was going on?" Yolei said, raising her voice a little too much. Enough for Maho to shush her.

Davis could only nod sadly. "Yeah. Koji said he was in the Digital World and had proof. Michi was just along for the ride, but she was definitely helping him out. I was going to tell you two after they left. Sorry."

Yolei shook her head, but continued to stare at Davis. "You were trying to keep us safe from Yasuo, weren't you?" Davis nodded. Yolei continued, "I guess Mimi was too. Sounded like she organized this trip and didn't tell me squat."

"Does Mimi know what happened to Michi?"

"No. I can't bear to tell her. Knowing her she'd jump on the first plane over here, take out all three of us and save Michi herself."

"Even so, having her over here wouldn't be the worst thing," Ken said, deliberately, "We have a boy who claims to have come from the Digital World and somehow escaped Yasuo. This is huge. We need to find Koji and Riley, and I think we'd be well-served having all four remaining Chosen here."

"Well, finding Koji will be pretty hard at this point," Yolei said, swirling the last few drops of wine around in her glass.

"Don't worry, I'll find them. If they're in Japan, I can-"

She shook her head. "They're not in Japan." She leaned in towards Ken and smiled, silenty asking Ken to refill her glass. "The stuff about our friends in the Digital World? That wasn't the weird part."

"There's more?" Davis asked, already interested.

Yolei raised an eyebrow at him. "Davis, did you bother to question how Koji got into the Digital World?"

Davis raised his hands, instantly defensive. "Look, Ken asked me the same thing and-"

"Aya told me," Yolei proclaimed, silencing Davis and drawing curious looks from Ken and Maho. "Here's where it gets crazy."

She waited for the three to lean in, then raised her glass and said, "Koji's from an alternate world."

Ken and Davis leaned back, then looked at each other in disbelief. Maho simply stood there, raised her eyebrows and replied, "Excuse me?"

Davis let it sink in for a moment before nodding. "Yeah. I could see that."

As Maho turned to Davis, her mouth agape, Yolei continued, "His real name is apparently Takato Matsuki."

"Takato Matsuki? Why does that sound familiar?" Ken asked.

"Wasn't that a character in TK's book? The one I thought was based on me?" Davis said, ignoring his wife.

His wife bitterly replied, "Yes, but you also thought Takuya was based on you. You probably also thought Tai was based on you."

Yolei chuckled, but continued to explain: "Apparently Izzy's old chums made this world to see if humans and Digimon could co-exist again. Somehow a gate to the Digital World opened, and Koji got through it and hooked up with the others."

"Really?" Davis said slowly and loudly. Suddenly he was the one surprised. "So was that American professor guy, what was it, Bob? Was that his thing?"

"Rob," Yolei corrected, with a nod, "But yes it was. Did you know about this world?"

Davis barely constrained a laugh. "Hell, I think I paid for it. This place is inside a computer or something, right?"

Yolei opened her mouth, then buried her face in her hand. "You mean you know about that too?"

"Not at all. I haven't talked to Rob about it in forever. Last time I checked, he said it wasn't going so well. For all I know, the project ended five years ago."

"Well, Davis, are you still paying for it?" Ken asked.

Davis scoffed. "Damned if I know. You'll have to ask the person who writes my checks."

He quickly turned to the person who wrote his checks. "Honey?"

Maho nodded. "You haven't told me to stop, so I keep sending them money. It's a tax write-off anyway, so what the heck?"

Davis shrugged. "There you go."

"Riley probably sent Koji back then. So what about Michi?" Ken said to Yolei.

"Michi never came up," Yolei replied, "But this at least tells us what we're dealing with."

"Actually, it only helps if Yasuo and Michi are somehow tied to this world too," Maho pointed out.

"Yasuo is. Aya says that's another reason he was looking for Koji. And Yasou's the kind of sleazeball that would use Michi to catch him."

Ken cleared his throat. "That's getting into conjecture, which doesn't help. But even if Michi isn't involved with this place, the more we know about it, the more likely we are to use it to our advantage."

"What, you thinking we can use that world to bring him down?" Davis asked, flashing a grin.

"Depends on what he's doing. If his involvement with this world is anything like his involvement with the Chosen, there could be something we can use to take him out of the picture and find Michi."

"Like what?" Maho asked.

Ken looked at her for a moment. He didn't actually have an answer. His gut reaction, however, told him that if Koji was indeed incurring Yasuo's wrath somehow, that would likely involve some sort of criminal activity. Even if punishing him was an impossibility (this, after all, was the same person who had made Jim Kido disappear), catching him in the act could at least buy them some time.

To actually make a move against Yasuo, however, two things were clearly necessary: one was evidence of a crime; the second was enough courage to fight the establishment that had suppressed the lives of him and his friends for far too long.

"I don't know," Ken finally answered, "But I just might be able wrestle the right information out of an old acquaintance."

"Who?" Yolei asked.

Ken looked at his plate and grinned. "You guys probably don't know him. But if there's another world out there where kids are uniting with Digimon, I bet he'd know about it."

* * *

Neither Mari nor Tally slept much that night. As with the previous night, they took shifts to be on call in case of an emergency in the MAXIS, but the idle world did more to cure their insomnia than cause it.

Mari's shift had been over for almost two hours, but she could only stare at the digital clock at the edge of her futon, counting the minutes past 4:00.

"400," she whispered as time carried her further and further away from it.

Was it presumptuous of her to think she was the only one who could unleash the power of bio-merging upon the MAXIS? Mari had never been proven wrong: her sole mission had been to make the bio-merge a reality. Her method had been building enough of a bond with Dobermon to understand how to encode the ability into the world. She did reach a breakthrough while the Tamers were in the Digital World. Of course, as she had no contact with them, she had not known about them until after everything had ended.

In fact, while everybody had been scrambling and trying to deal with D-Reaper's rapid emergence in the real world, Mari had been preparing to take what she thought was the first leap. While the researchers fiddled with arks and communications devices, she was about to become one-half of the ultimate weapon. She had visions of what her bio-merge with Dobermon would look like, and was waiting for the right time to enter the fray.

The right time had arrived too soon, unfortunately. Her synch level with Dobermon was just shy of the necessary mark and the Tamers needed support immediately. Therefore, the first time they had faced the Tamers, all she had was a message. Dobermon had a purpose.

She had been researching ways to give the Tamers the ability to bio-merge in the real world. Before she could protest, Dobermon chose the simple solution: he had been created specifically for bio-merging, and sharing his data gave three others that ability. While Takato, Henry, and Rika suddenly had new life, Mari had suddenly lost part of hers. The Digimon she had loved and the chance to experience the phenomenon she had worked so hard to produce were both gone. As much as she wanted to show anger or resentment at the turn of events, she couldn't. In the end, it had all worked out so well.

The clock was almost approaching five. Mari could only accept the truth- Dobermon was gone, taking with him the power to grant the bio-merge, especially to his own partner. The moment five o'clock struck, Mari accepted the fact that sleep was no longer an option. She decided to take over for Tally and consume whatever information the MAXIS had to offer. Mari sat up and pulled herself out of the futon. As her bare feet eased along the carpet towards the door, she heard a soft moan on the other side of the room. Turning around, Mari saw that Tally had already deserted her post and was tucked into her bed, clutching a pillow as she faced away from the door.

"TK..." she mumbled.

Somehow, Mari knew that Tally was awake too, worrying about something equally important.

Yet, somehow Mari smiled.

* * *

The din of whirring cooling fans and flashing indicator lights made Mari feel more comfortable. As intent as she was on following the recent developments in the MAXIS, the soothing warmth of technology lulled Mari to sleep.

The smell of coffee and a tap on the shoulder woke her a few hours later. After rubbing her eyes and recalling where she was, Mari nodded and accepted the steaming mug from Tally.

"Sorry I left my post," Tally said, "But nothing was happening and I just couldn't keep my eyes open."

Mari sipped her coffee without responding. She wasn't about to judge Tally; she had tried to follow the action and still fell asleep. Although she had initially found it surprising that Rika and Kazu alone could keep D-Reaper in check, the lack of any serious momentum for either side (and the lack of any visuals of the battle) failed to keep Mari entertained for long.

Now the indicators continued to suggest that Renamon and Andromon were fighting. Only somewhere during Mari's nap, Leomon and Veemon must have joined in. Despite the added firepower, the battle was still at a standstill.

"Anything interesting?" Tally asked.

Mari took another drink. "No. Michi slept peacefully." Despite her lack of emotion in the statement, it was a noticeable and hopefully useful trait- Michi appeared to be a content sleeper. Had she encountered a bout of nightmares, D-Reaper would have probably overwhelmed the entire resistance before dawn.

Tally leaned against the door and drank from her own cup. Casually, she asked, "What do you think their chances are?"

Mari was equally casual in her reply. "Over the long term, it doesn't draw as much energy from Michi as it did Jeri. Unless it finds some way of torturing her, I doubt it can last against a sustained assault."

Tally frowned. "Torture? How can you say that so lightly?"

"Whatever it used against Jeri worked. Therefore-"

"That's not what I mean. Now that they know she's in there, Matt and Sora won't keep her in for long. They'll come up with some big rescue operation and once Michi's safe the rest is easy."

"They already tried," Mari replied, "Yesterday evening, remember? I doubt it was a coincidence that the captive's mother was the one with the spiking synch level."

Tally paused and glanced at the monitors. "I suppose. But one lost battle doesn't mean anything."

"It means the bond between Sora and her daughter was not enough. Therefore, to answer your question- their chances are not good.

In frustration, Tally raised her voice a notch. "But you just said D-Reaper wouldn't last against a sustained assault. How's that not good?"

Mari turned to the screen listing the synch levels. "They are too driven by emotion to consider a sustained assault. They want Michi out now, and their desperate rescue attempts will be their undoing."

Tally scoffed. "So get online and tell Riley." She added, bitterly, "I'm sure she'd love telling that to Sora."

Mari pulled her chair up to the computer. "This is all conjecture. The only way to gauge D-Reaper properly is to be there in person. Or perhaps Riley knows this and the others aren't listening."

"If you're trying to suggest that we're pretty useless right now, I agree. But there's not much we can do besides telling Riley any information we have."

"Unless the key is a different parent/child combination."

It took a moment for Tally to figure it out, but her heavy sigh made it clear that she did. "You want to go in, don't you?"

Mari set her hands on the keyboard. She thought about abandoning the conversation in favor of a round of routine system checks, but she couldn't force her fingers to move.

"It's unfair that my father and his companions are in there fighting while we have to sit and watch."

"We're also not going to die if we lose," replied Tally.

"Exactly. Thus making it unfair. We should be standing alongside them. Don't you feel the same way?"

Mari looked Tally in the eyes. Tally quickly averted them and asked "Now who's too driven by emotion?"

"If everybody inside is going to be, why shouldn't I?" Mari replied, downright defiant.

Tally cracked a smile. "For starters, there's no way in. You'd go straight to Hypnos HQ, which is pretty much a dead zone now."

This got Mari's fingers moving. A quick perusal of the Hypnos system yielded no results, and Tally picked up on that.

"If you're looking for a way to move the gate, forget it. Riley encrypted the Hypnos system extensively. There's no way to change the parameters without the right clearance."

Mari stopped and again turned to Tally. This time, she added a faint smile. Tally backed away.

"You have clearance from Hypnos, right?"

"Forget it, Mari. I didn't want Takato to go in that deathtrap. I'm not helping you."

"My father is in that deathtrap."

Tally held her ground. "Still."

"Your husband is in that deathtrap."

Tally glared at Mari, who continued, "We are in the same predicament. You want to be in there as much as I do. And I see no reason why we can't enter together."

Their eyes remained locked on each other until Tally began to squirm and said, "Promise to quit acting up and start thinking straight once we get inside?"

"I plan to win alongside my father, not die with him."

Finally, Tally shrugged. "I'll call Janyuu."

"Janyuu?"

Tally nodded and opened the door. "Somebody's got to keep an eye on this place while we're gone."

* * *

It wasn't until Ken knocked on the door that he realized the chances he was taking. As confident as he had seemed at dinner the night before, the ensuing hours reminded him of how many things could go wrong. For starters, he wasn't sure if the right person was home. If he was, there was also the question of whether Ken could convince him to share enough information.

After the first knock went unanswered, he tried again. Whatever the risk, he was here and was determined to at least try to see his plan through. He heard a latch slide open and the doorknob turn. Ken stepped back and took a deep breath: there was no turning back now.

The young man who answered the door raised a suspicious eyebrow at Ken, but Ken was too dumbstruck to make anything of it. Ken had not seen Ryo in decades, but Ken was surprised at how much he had not changed.

"Ryo Akiyama? I work with your father. My name's Ken Ichijouji, may I come in?" Ken did his best to sound professional, despite the knowledge that this very action marked the beginning of the end of his career.

"Ken Ichijouji?" Ryo repeated, scanning Ken up and down, "You mean Digimon Emperor Ken Ichijouji?"

Ken gritted his teeth; even after almost forty years, he still didn't like that title. However, he convinced himself that Ryo digging up the old memory would prove beneficial and carried on.

"Yeah. Funny you mention that. May I come in?"

Ryo snickered. "If you're looking for Dad, he's at the office."

"Actually, I was looking for you, Ryo."

"Me? Why?" Ryo asked, pointing to himself.

"I'll explain inside."

Ryo thought it over for a moment, but swung the door open and let Ken inside. The Akiyama residence was larger than Ken's house, but Yasuo apparently kept a modest, modern décor. As such, beyond the fact that most of the furnishings were bigger, there was little to suggest that it was the home of one of the most powerful men in Japan. In fact, the whole place seemed a bit too spacious for Ken; he still preferred his and Yolei's house.

Ryo closed the front door and sat down on the couch. "So, Mr. Detective, what are you investigating?"

Ken found a chair across the room and answered, "Let's just say it's a missing persons case. A personal matter, but very serious nonetheless."

Ryo frowned. "What, and you think Dad has something to do with it?"

Ken sighed, but couldn't say anything. As interesting as Ryo's past had been, his present loyalty was still probably to Yasuo.

Ryo confirmed Ken's fears: "Even if I did know something, I'm not ratting him out, okay?"

Ken nodded, trying to come up with the best way to proceed. Again, the reference to the Digimon Emperor helped. "How much do you know about the Chosen?"

Ryo smiled. "My Dad's not a fan of them, but between you and me- what you guys did back then was pretty impressive." Ken managed a smile as Ryo added, "I'm pretty up on the digi-destined: read both books. Loved the cartoon too."

"Cartoon?" Ken replied, suddenly curious.

A brief gasp escaped Ryo as he panicked for a moment. "Uh... Frontier, I mean." Ken nodded, sated by the explanation. "You know you kinda resemble Koichi."

Ignoring the remark, Ken continued, "The reason I ask is because I'm looking for Matt and Sora's daughter. Her name's Michi."

Ryo narrowed his eyes. "Why would I know anything about her?"

"Unfortunately, it may have something to do with Yasuo's dealings. Therefore I'm asking you, as somebody who might be sympathetic to the Chosen, to help us out."

Raising a hand, and his voice, Ryo said, "Look Ken, I think you guys are cool and all, but don't expect me to help you out just because of that. If if Dad did something to her, and even if I knew about it, I'm not going to turn on him because of something you did forty years ago. After all, I've known Dad all my life. We've just met."

In spite of himself, Ken smiled brightly. He couldn't have phrased it better.

"Ryo... little trivia question for you: in my first trip to the Digital World, I traveled with another boy. We had a few adventures, ending with a battle with an enemy Digimon. When we defeated him, he unleashed a number of dark spores at us. One was headed straight for this other boy, but I dove in front of him and took it in the neck, creating the Digimon Emperor."

Ryo stared back with a raised eyebrow, a little dumbfounded. "And?"

"What was the name of that boy?"

Suddenly uncertain of the conversation, Ryo looked around aimlessly. He sighed and walked out of the room. "Hold on..."

With Ryo gone, Ken stretched out in the chair. He was unusually smug, and he typically wasn't one to reveal information in such a dramatic fashion, but if Ryo was such a fan of the Chosen, this was the best way to do it.

He patiently waited the five minutes it took for Ryo come back downstairs with a hardcover copy of TK's book. One page had been flipped open and Ryo was poring over it.

Finally, he slammed the book shut and looked up at Ken. "His name isn't listed anywhere in here. Is this a trick question?"

Ken folded his arms and stared Ryo in the eyes. "His name was Ryo Akiyama."

The book fell to the floor as Ryo went numb for a moment. He attempted to get his mouth working again, but all he could manage was "M... me?" Ryo's eyes fell down to the legendary bestseller spread open on the floor.

"Seems hard to believe, but trust me- I was there. That was definitely you. You were one of the original digi-destined. A Chosen."

His eyes still on the book, Ryo mumbled, "Somehow I believe it." Falling back into the couch, he nodded.

"All I had been told was that I was some Digiworld orphan that was returned to my real family after I died in there." Ryo spoke clearly now, but still with a nostalgic air. "I should have known it was something bigger than that."

Ken nodded. In truth, the "Digiworld orphan" story was likely true; Ryo's stubborn refusal to leave the world in the 2010's had been both legendary and quite aggravating to Digimon experts. His death in 2020 had been deemed a fair comeuppance by more than a few researchers. Ken wisely didn't mention any of this to Ryo.

Instead, he drove the point home: "You may not remember your previous life, but it definitely has an impact- you're still as captivated by Digimon as you were then, and given how rebellious you were, I doubt that's changed either."

"Still not a good reason to turn on Dad though."

Ken sighed and cracked a light smile. "Okay, here's one- as I said, about 40 years ago we were in the Digital World together and I took a dark spore heading in your direction. I turn into a monster and you end up delaying adulthood for thirty years." His smile grew as he stood and stared down at Ryo. "Way I see it, Ryo- you owe me a favor."

Ryo stiffened as he looked up at Ken. His head drooped as he sighed. "Okay, but how do you know I can even help?"

"Given your interest in Digimon, call it a hunch. Know anything about a kid named either Koji Mathews or Takato Matsuki?"

Ryo's head snapped back up at Ken. "Takato!" he exclaimed.

Despite the breakthrough, Ken resisted the urge to smile. "You know him?"

"Know him?" Ryo sat back and folded his arms. "He gave me a concussion last week. How do you know about Takato?"

"You first, Ryo. I know he's from another world, I know he was caught by Yasuo and later escaped, and I'm hoping that he can help lead me to Michi." Ken sat back down, still watching the now wide-eyed ex-Tamer. "I want you to fill in the blanks."

"So he got out after all..." Ryo turned away and took another deep breath. "What is it about him that keeps making me the good guy in the end?"

Ken raised an eyebrow. "I hope that's not a problem. There are lives on the line."

"Besides mine after Dad's through with me?" Ryo turned back to Ken, then cracked a smile. "Anyway, about this other world..."

Ken sat back and listened as he finally got the explanation he was looking for.

* * *

They survived the night.

As basic an accomplishment as it was, it encouraged Riley immensely. Despite Michi's presence, D-Reaper was mostly stagnant through the night- a very good sign. Now, after forcing herself into a few hours of sleep, Riley could see good reason to have hope. As long as Michi was present, battling D-Reaper would be an uphill battle. Lasting the night though, especially with only Rika and Kazu's Digimon mobilized, suggested that success was at least feasible.

Furthermore, Jeri and Takato had joined in somewhere during the night. While the Chosen had all attempted to get some sleep, the Tamers still held their guard. Riley smiled as she realized that Matt was right: these kids were special.

"You're in a good mood." Riley frowned as she heard a bitter voice, recognizing it immediately as Sora's. She was eyeing the computers as she drank some coffee.

"D-Reaper was inactive overnight. That's a good sign- means it isn't drawing as much energy as it could be."

"Are we any closer to getting Michi back?" Sora asked, not impressed.

Riley sighed; she hadn't worked a rescue operation into her plans yet, but there was no reason not to. "If we fight it off for another day, we should be able to attempt something tonight." She turned to Sora, who looked down and nodded. "Why don't you and Matt save your energy for a big strike tonight?"

"Okay."

Leaning back in her chair, Riley yawned. D-Reaper wasn't appearing as strong as initially thought, Sora was momentarily sated, and they now had a tentative rescue plan. Riley knew her feeling of confidence was probably ill-founded, but she let herself have it anyway. After all the misery surrounding the D-Reaper gaining a source, optimism felt damn good, justifiable or not.

All Sora noticed was the yawn. "Didn't sleep much?" she asked, sounding suspicious.

Riley ignored the indirect allegation she drew from the question and answered sincerely, "I haven't slept much all week."

Sora narrowed an eye. "How long have you been trying to save this place?"

"Since the day Izzy sent Takato to the real world."

A pause- Riley relished Sora's astonishment. She did not, however, like Sora's reply: "Why? I mean Takato certainly made an impression on us, but why work so hard to sustain a failed experiment?"

Riley almost never explained her full motive for going to such lengths for this world. Even Tally and Mari didn't know the whole story. Given the reason, telling Sora was absolutely out of the question.

"Well, why did you agree to help out?" Riley asked instead, "Matt and Joe gave you every reason not to, and from what I hear two of you did vote against the idea."

Sora slumped into a chair and after propping her elbows on the console, rested her chin on her hands. "If I said why, you'd probably dislike me even more."

Riley formed a wry smile. "I doubt that's possible."

"It's just that... besides wanting to help Takato and all... I felt like if I didn't try to help out here, I'd somehow be letting down Tai."

With a gasp, Riley felt her face turn white. There were many reasons she had never explained her motives to anyone- being singled out as a delusional zealot was the main one. Perhaps she was reading more into Sora's answer than she should have, but Riley suddenly felt a camaraderie that almost erased their catty little feud.

Sora read Riley's face much differently and angrily added, "Listen, you can interpret that however you want, but just remember that Tai and I-"

"You feel him too?" Riley didn't interrupt so much as she wasn't listening.

Sora stared back, a little uncertain how to respond. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Never mind." Finally, Riley decided to drop the subject. Even if Sora did share Riley's premonitions, she wasn't somebody Riley wanted to discuss them with.

Instead, Riley changed the subject. "Who made coffee?"

Sora looked down at the coffee mug next to the computer, as if suddenly reminded of its presence. "Kari. Should still be some upstairs."

That brought Riley out of her seat. "Smells really good. I need to wake up."

She left Sora at the controls and began to walk out. Before she could make it to the door, Sora called out, "Riley?"

Had it been anyone else, the concerned tone would have worried Riley. As it came from Sora, it did more to aggravate. "What?" Riley replied, suddenly really wanting that coffee.

Sora was staring at the monitor in front of her. "I think one of those agents is forming."

"Uh huh," Riley huffed as she approached, "How would you know?"

"I may not be an expert hacker like you or Izzy, but I'm not computer illiterate," Sora replied, equally bitter, "There's definitely something forming here."

Riley glanced at the monitor; one look was all she needed before she swore under her breath. Partially for the fact that Sora was right, primarily because the overnight lull was apparently over and D-Reaper felt like getting serious again.

"Is that where the Tamers are battling?" Sora asked.

Another glance and Riley responded, "Doesn't look like it. Call the Tamers and tell them not to engage it. We'll send some fresh troops after it."

"Right," Sora affirmed as she reached for a cell phone.

Upstairs, Riley mercifully found not only the coffee, but that she had several options to go after the newly-formed agent. She gave Izzy and Henry the job and downed her coffee as they retrieved their Digimon.

With caffeine in her system and firepower at the ready, she led the group back to the control room. The first thing that Riley noticed was that Sora had moved to a different seat and was now typing on Riley's laptop.

"What are you doing!" she shouted angrily. The laptop was Riley's only connection to the real world; that made it off-limits.

Sora dismissed Riley's concern with a curious stare. "Janyuu Wong is trying to get a hold of you. I thought TK's wife was your main contact."

"She is." Riley motioned for Sora to get out of the chair. She did, and Riley quickly took her spot.

"It's Dad?" Henry asked.

Riley stared at the screen. The IM conversation used Tally's screen name, but Janyuu had clearly identified himself in his brief chat with Sora.

"Yeah... wonder what he wants."

"He said something about some more help coming your way," Sora answered.

"That's unlikely." As Riley started typing, she called out. "Tentomon, go outside and try to see where exactly the agent's emerging. Henry, go with him and figure out what we're dealing with this time."

Henry protested, "But if that's Dad, I kinda want to talk to him about-"

"Later, Henry. Something tells me this isn't a courtesy call," Sora replied.

"Come on, Henry," Tentomon said. Henry nodded and followed the Digimon outside.

By that time, Riley had already gotten word from Janyuu: Mari and Tally were heading in.

The news was confusing more than anything else. Riley took her type to type a reply, but after thirty seconds of idling over the keyboard, all she could manage was _"Why?"_

"What is it?" Izzy asked.

Before she could answer, Janyuu replied, _"Look at who else you have in there. Did you expect them to stay here and watch?"_

"Is he talking about Tally?" Sora's voice startled Riley, who immediately glared at the woman looking over her shoulder.

"Yeah, he says she and Mari are coming." Riley mumbled.

"M... Mari?" Izzy stammered. Rather than attempt to address the swirling emotions Izzy was surely having, Riley focused on the more important issue- getting them to headquarters. Of course, that created one serious logistical issue...

"Wait, if they're coming in from the real world, wouldn't they show up in the tower?"

Sora nailed it, but Riley didn't react at first. Both Mari and Tally knew that appearing at the original Hypnos center meant certain death by now. Family issues or not, they weren't that foolish. Riley logged onto a different computer and started typing fervently. In less than five seconds, her face erupted into a broad smile.

"Ha! Tally changed the access point. They're arriving about five blocks east of here. Smart."

"I can get them," Sora said.

Riley was about to oblige when Henry re-entered, his scouting report complete: "It's almost developed. Looks like it's that tall red thing- the one with the eyes all over the place and could shoot beams and, uh... you know the one."

Despite the clumsy description, Riley did. The strength of that particular agent also meant that the Izumi reunion would have to wait until daddy got off work.

"Thanks, Henry. Izzy- this is a tough one. We'll take care of Mari, just handle the agent."

"Yes, ma'am," Izzy replied. He turned to Henry. "Where is it?"

Izzy's Digimon flew in with the answer: "It's about five blocks east of here. Better hurry, it looks like it's almost developed."

The dreadful silence that followed Tentomon's answer was short, broken almost immediately when Izzy sprinted out of the room, grabbing Henry on the way.

"Oh God..." Despite the coffee, Riley was suddenly exhausted again. Alone, Tally and Mari arriving was an annoyance- a forgivable and tolerable one at that. In a matter of seconds, it had escalated into a full-blown crisis, and Riley was by no means ready to deal with it. She looked over at Sora, desperate to find some sort of sympathy.

The menacing glare Sora returned wasn't it. Instead, Sora began to march out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Riley asked through an exasperated sigh.

"That thing already has my little girl," Sora declared, "I'm not letting it get Izzy's."

* * *

Despite regular visits back when she was living inside the MAXIS, Tally found the department store she and Mari had landed in to be quite creepy. With the store closed since the city's evacuation, only the dull red exit sign lights provided any illumination, aside from the natural light winding its way in from the storefront windows. That light did little to encourage as it threw shadows of mannequins along the back walls.

Mari was right at home. "Excellent placement. Nearby but not in immediate danger, and certain to be near a running computer network," she said, staring at a point-of-service counter, with its computer-register in standby mode.

"Let's just get out of here and meet up with the others," Tally replied, leading the way out.

Using her memories of the store along with the little light they had, she led Mari to the front door. Tally was startled by the security alarm that blared as they exited, but she was sure that given the situation they were not likely to be arrested for shoplifting.

They felt the ominous presence of D-Reaper immediately. Even with no visible chaos in sight, the streets were dark, the sky was overcast, and empty streets were just too out of place in downtown Shinjuku.

"How long before they arrive?" Mari asked.

"Don't worry about it. Janyuu told Riley we were coming and I know Riley will look up the exact entry point. They'll be here." All the same, Tally did wish she had a better idea where operation headquarters was. They figured it was about five blocks to the west, but without knowing exactly they were better off staying close to the entry point.

Until the ground started beneath a loud rumbling sound.

"What was that?" Tally asked, looking around to find any possible source nearby.

Mari glanced once to the left, once to the right, then once at Tally. "Perhaps the sounds from the battle are drifting this way."

It seemed feasible, although the noise sounded too close. "Still, we'd better stay inside until they get here."

"Not with that alarm. If any agent did arrive, that siren's a dinner bell. Let's find a safer location."

Another rumbling greeted them as they eased their way down the street. The sound persisted and grew louder as they began to break into a jog. As Mari started into a run, Tally could no longer contain her urge to look back: the agent walking behind them was as tall as most of the buildings, covered in a putrid combination of eyes, arms, tentacles and chaos. Tally screamed, bringing Mari to stop and face the Paratice Head.

As it continued to approach them, Tally wanted to run but found herself frozen to the concrete. Runnnig wasn't likely to help of course- Tally was slowed by both age and the Age-Reduction Surgery from years ago. She was no match for the towering agent.

Mari, unwilling to leave Tally behind, was also helpless to watch as the agent approached. As it drew in, its palm spread open in front of Tally, with dozens of eyes fixated on the human creature.

After scanning Tally up and down, Paratice Head spoke through Michi's voice: "State your name."

Tally looked over at Mari, who looked back and nodded. Tally faced the agent again and answered, "Tally Onodera."

"No record found. State your purpose."

Tally was marginally offended that D-Reaper didn't recognize Michi's aunt, but let it go. After considering her answer carefully, she said, "Just visiting relatives."

"A pointless task." Without a word of explanation, the hand moved over to Mari and began the same routine: "State your name."

"Mari Izumi," Mari replied coldly.

As Paratice Head paused to process the name, Tally scoffed. "It didn't know me, it's not going to know you. Have you even met Michi before?"

Before Mari could answer, Paratice Head did: "Mari Izumi. Your purpose was to seduce Koji Mathews."

In a rare instant, Mari was dumbfounded. "What?"

"Your purpose has been fulfilled. Therefore, it is my purpose to destroy you," the agent concluded.

Mari's eyes widened as she started backpedaling. "Perhaps I should have said I was Alice."

"Run, Mari!" Tally shouted as they both started sprinting down the street.

They were no match for the towering agent, however, and Mari didn't get thirty yards before Paratice Head's hand swooped down and grabbed her. Running parallel, Tally was helpless as the agent hoisted Mari higher. Tally panicked for a moment, but sighed as she saw their allies at the end of the block.

"Horn Buster!" MegaKabuterimon shouted, launching an attack at the agent's head. Although it appeared to only irritate Paratice Head, the bolt of energy was strong enough to force its arm to fall. As it approached Tally, Mari extended her arms out.

"Tally!" she shouted as Tally reached for, and clasped, Mari's hands.

Instead of squeezing Mari out, however, the hand rose higher, taking Tally with it. Tally released a breathless scream as she secured her grip on Mari. She almost lost it when she heard a round of gunfire strike Paratice Head, thankfully in the chest. Gargomon was shooting at it while Izzy and Henry jumped off MegaKabuterimon's back.

With Paratice Head distracted, Tally knew it was her chance to get Mari out of there. Unfortunately, the girl didn't budge.

"Too tight," Mari gasped, "Besides, falling from here wouldn't be wise."

Tally looked down; they were at least fifteen feet off the ground.

"Good point," she replied breathlessly, just before a sudden jolt startled both of them.

It was an energy beam emitting from the agent's face, directly at the attacking Digimon. They both dodged skillfully, but in the few seconds while they were occupied, the agent turned its attention to the woman attempting to rescue its captive. Still clutching Mari, Tally could only watch and dangle as the other hand reached over and grabbed Tally, tearing her away from Mari.

Tally did the best she could to crawl around and prevent Paratice Head from closing its fist with her inside it. She never had time to realize that the agent had no such plans; it responded by flinging her to the side. Directly into the concrete wall of a building. Tally saw nothing, thought she heard someone screaming her name, and barely had time to comprehend the moment of unfathomable pain in every extremity of her body before she loss consciousness. As a result, she was the only one in the viscinity who didn't have to witness her falling and crashing onto the pavement.

* * *

From their safe vantage point almost a block away, Izzy and Henry saw the sickening sequence unfold in less than five seconds. Megakabuterimon attempted to dive in for the rescue, but Paratice Head engaged it, swiping at the Digimon with its free hand. Neither Izzy nor Henry could say anything as they stared, in shock, at the motionless woman down the street. Finally, Izzy turned away from Tally and up at his daughter, still in the agent's grasp. He took two steps towards Mari and whispered her name.

"Don't!" Henry yelled from behind. Izzy turned around to protest, but Henry was already by him and running down the street. "I'm faster," the Tamer added.

With Gargomon giving his partner plenty of cover, Henry reached the battle quickly. The ultimate-level Megakabuterimon launched attack after attack at the agent, preventing Paratice Head from doing anything to Mari. Of course, as Mari was trapped in the hand of an agent throwing its arms about in defense, she was no closer to being rescued.

Which was where Henry and Gargomon came in. "As soon its arm is low enough and you have a clear shot, fire away. I'll catch her when she pops out," Henry ordered.

The wait was short, but it felt devastating, especially as nobody could attend to Tally across the street. Henry looked back at Izzy, who was pacing back and forth while talking on a cell phone- calling for the medics no doubt. Henry tried to forget about Tally and looked up at the girl in the agent's hand. She was unhappy and darting her eyes between the agent's head and her motionless companion, but very conscious and very in need of rescue.

When the moment finally came, Gargomon sprayed a round of bullets at approximately the agent's wrist. Paratice Head reeled its arm back, then attempted to bring Mari into the line of fire. Luckily, the brief spray of fire hit only the agent's fingers, forcing the hand open for a split second. Long enough, as Mari fell through and down to the street, where Henry was waiting on his knees to catch her. He fell backward immediately from the weight of impact, but he brushed it off quickly and pulled her to the sidewalk.

"Are you all right?" Henry asked as he stopped under an awning that he deemed safe.

"Tally!" Mari shouted as she attempted to leap to her feet, held back by Henry's arms.

"Not while those two are going at it! We've already called for an ambulance."

Unbefitting her black clothes and unorthodox eyes, she was entering a fit of hysterics. "But she-"

"If she's hurt that badly, there's not much we can do." Henry continued to restrain her, pushing Mari off him and holding her down from the side. "We don't want you to get hurt either."

He leaned forward and looked her in the eyes. Her eyes were moist, but she appeared to be calming down. Her breathing was less staggered and she gave up trying to push him aside. Finally, she sat up, leaned forward, and rested her head in his shoulder.

"Henry..." she whispered.

Henry could do little to comfort her. He himself was uncomfortable enough. He wanted to rush over and help Tally too, but now he was left to console this girl. Although he recognized her as the mysterious Alice who had helped the Tamers before, he had never formally met her. Yet she seemed capable of relaxing in his arms, as if she had known him all her life.

The battle, meanwhile, grew more intense as the tandem attack of MegaKabuterimon and Gargomon forced the agent to backpedal. It responded with another beam, putting the pair on the defensive, until a swipe of the arm knocked MegaKabuterimon backward. The giant beetle was unfazed and flew back in, but little progress was made.

While the two Digimon occupied Paratice Head, a third swept in and shouted, "Wing Blade!" Garudamon had arrived, and the unexpected attack struck Paratice Head in the face, disorienting it enough for MegaKabuterimon to launch a Horn Buster to further damage the agent, exposing the red cable connecting it to D-Reaper. A second Wing Blade was sufficient in cutting it and destroying the creature. Nobody celebrated. Nobody sighed in relief. Even before the agent's destruction, Izzy was running up to Tally. Sora, Mari and Henry were right behind him.

Once they reached Tally, they couldn't bare to look at her, or the pool of blood that had formed underneath her. As soon as he was close enough to see how bad it truly was, Izzy turned away, right at his daughter, now running across the street into his open arms. They embraced silently, but their miraculous reunion had quickly become insignificant.

Sora dropped to her knees in front of Tally. As she looked Tally over carefully, Sora's face scrunched, unsure if it was about to burst into tears or throw up.

"Is Joe coming?" Sora asked.

"This is far beyond Joe," Izzy replied gravely, "I went straight to..." his voice trailed off as he heard the urgent and rushed sirens behind him. He turned around as the ambulance flew down the street. He clutched Mari tightly as Henry waved them in.

The four fell silent as the paramedics raced to give Tally emergency first aid. Given the extent of her injuries, it was a seemingly-endless process, compounded by the devastating fall to put her spinal column at risk. She remained motionless as the paramedics lifted her and the stretcher towards the ambulance.

Mari broke away from her father for a moment to ask, "She's alive?"

"There's still hope," one paramedic mumbled, more concerned with the task at hand, "If we can get her to the hospital in time."

The workers were silent from then on as they finished loading her into the ambulance. The only major sound was the clap of the ambulance doors as they slammed shut. Once the doors were closed, the sirens wailed back to life, guiding the vessel back down the streets.

Mari too remained silent during the ordeal. As she watched her friend ride off to meet her fate, two hands fell upon her shoulder. She closed her eyes.

"Hi, Dad," she whispered.

* * *

The hospital had only the bare minimum of staff present- the aftermath of the city-wide evacuation the Tamers had orchestrated. There was no lack of personnel on hand to attend to Tally, but the lobby seemed eerily quiet as Riley and TK waited for an update.

Riley sat forward, her face pressing against her clasped hands. Even when Janyuu had announced that Tally and Mari were entering and Henry had announced the Agent's location, Riley had never thought of the situation as anything more than unnecessary drama. She had never dreamed that this inconvenience could cost someone her life. Especially Tally's- in spite of all her sacrifice, even Riley wasn't willing to die for this world.

TK sat back in his chair, stone-faced and staring straight ahead. Riley could only imagine what was going through his mind: the marriage between him and Tally had always been rocky. Furthermore, twelve years of separation and his affair with Kari in the Digital World surely complicated his feelings. Still, he was her husband, and he didn't hesitate when Riley had asked him to come along.

As the doctor entered the room, neither stood at first. The doctor's head was lowered, refusing to make eye contact with either of them. Slowly, Riley and TK stood as he said, "Mr. Takaishi? Mrs. Kamiya?" Silence followed as he led them down the hall.

"How bad is she?" Riley asked.

The doctor stopped in front of a room and sighed. "The injuries are too extensive. Everything internally was damaged- bones, muscle, nervous system. She probably won't last the night."

As Riley closed her eyes and fought off tears, he continued, "She is awake at the moment, so if you would like to see her, now's the time."

He walked away, and Riley briefly considered asking him to elaborate, but TK opened the door and entered. Riley followed him in. There, Tally lied motionless on the bed, connected to several monitoring apparatuses, IV tubes, and a breathing machine. Riley turned away immediately, but TK approached the bed and looked into his wife's blinking eyes. Then he fell to his knees and put his hand over hers.

"Why?" he mumbled, "I don't understand. Why did you do all this?"

"TK..." Tally whispered, pausing to let the breathing machine inhale for her, "I did it because I wanted to."

"But you never cared about all this. Why now?"

"Because you did. I thought that if I followed in your footsteps, I'd be able to find you." Her pale lips formed a faint smile. "I was right."

Riley stepped forward and set her palms on the bed. "Tally, I just wish you would have let us know before-"

"I don't regret it. I got what I came for. I am in no pain right now." Tally's eyes rolled up and she blinked. "Whatever they shot me full of works great."

"You might still pull through. Don't give up."

"Either way... I'm good."

TK lifted her hand up, ignoring the scrapes and bruises that had been left unrepaired. "Although I do wish I could feel that hand right now," Tally said, before her eyelids began to fall.

"Tally, don't go," Riley said. Immediately, Tally's eyes opened again. "I can't stand the thought of losing you like this."

"It's okay. I just need a little rest. You should get some too; you're working too hard."

Riley attempted to speak, but merely closed her eyes and nodded.

Tally continued, "Are Takato and Jeri all right?"

"They're fine. Jeri's doing much better."

"Good. I told him not to let anything bad happen to them. That's harder than he makes it look."

"Tally, I..." TK said, before trailing off. He sighed, then found his voice again, "I'm sorry for everything. For everything back then, for everything now. For everything you went through just to find me."

"I know," she whispered, before her eyelids gave way and she drifted off.

Her heart rate monitor still beeped at a slow clip, and neither Riley nor TK accepted it verbally, but they both somehow knew that Tally was not going to wake up. Riley walked away from the bed and fell into a chair in the corner. TK remained on his knees, holding Tally's hand.

"I still don't get it. Why did you two put yourselves through all this?"

With her head propped in her hand, Riley replied, softly, "In a time like this, I wonder the same thing. And still, it's right in front of us."

TK released Tally's hand and turned around. "Even so, no matter what this world symbolizes, it's still just a fantasy. It's too naive to think that Digimon could ever be in the real world again. This world is just a dream. It's just..."

As he struggled to say the right world, it came to Riley. She wasn't afraid to share it. "It's just hope?"

TK looked away, shaking his head. "Is it worth dying for?"

"She didn't plan to die. We didn't work for seven years on this world only to have it kill us. If it was up to her, she and Mari would be back at headquarters right now having a laugh while helping us stop D-Reaper. She wasn't about to die for this world, and neither would I."

"I guess I just find it hard to believe she and Mari would put themselves in this situation. This world is not safe. Surely they knew that before plunging in."

"Of course they did. But whatever the reason for them entering, they thought it was worth the risk. Tally didn't make it... Mari did. After everything Yasuo did to us, she's back with her father."

TK bit his lip as it began to sink in. "That's the reason?"

Riley nodded, turning once more to Tally. The beeping slowed further, until it was replaced with a steady, monotonous tone. Riley closed her eyes. "They had the same reason- they wanted to see their loved ones again." She took a deep breath and added, "And that... I would die for."

**To Be Continued in Stage Seven- "Merge"**

**Author's Notes**  
Since it first arose in Level 1, the relationship between TK and Tally was always under the surface, and affecting their actions in more ways than they'd care to acknowledge. Tally's death, planned since the beginning, is not quite the culmination of this subplot (as we have yet to delve into TK's feelings), but it opens a lot of questions about her and Riley's motives. Since Level 3 seems to be centered around Riley more than Takato (although with so many stories to keep track of, keep in mind that Takato is the hub of them all), her story doesn't reach its full climax until the very end.

While it may seem like Takato was cut out of the last part of this stage, keep in mind who joined Rika and Kazu in battle. I think he'll be all right.

As the dinner scene was entertaining enough with Davis, Ken, and Yolei, I didn't feel the need to make Maho any kind of scene-stealing character. In fact, her frankness is a fun contrast to Davis. Those who remember "Odaiba Memorial Day" may note that I kept the tradition of naming Davis's significant others after anime characters voiced by Veemon's voice actress Junko Noda. Maho is her character in His & Her Circumstances.

I had been looking forward to the Ryo/Ken scene for a long time. Since I abandon the video game canon with Ryo in favor of a story that fits with the connection between the worlds, a reunion with Ken would be a little out of the ordinary. It's so easy to demonize Ryo because of his tentative support for Yasuo's side, but there is a familial relationship there that should be respected.

With Henry/Alice being a surprisingly popular alternate pairing in Tamers fandom, I was a little hesitant about making Henry's rescue too suggestive, but with the notion that Mari may or may not have a little childhood crush on Henry, I had to let it play out, especially if you recall her disappointment over the life of "real world" Henry.

This ends Level 3: Stage Six of The Connection.


	7. Merge

_**Level 3: Experiments**  
_  
**Stage Seven- Merge**

If being trapped within D-Reaper's Kernal Sphere was truly Michi's purpose in life, it was not keeping her very occupied. In all her prior musings about what people are supposed to do with themselves, Michi had always carried the assumption that one's calling would be stimulating and interesting. Instead, she felt even more tired and bored here than she did with the Ichijouji family. Despite the change in scenery, she was basically doing the same thing here- sitting around and moping about life. Given the foreign environment and eerie lack of any ambience, she'd rather be moping with the Ichijouji's.

Although Michi did enjoy quiet solitude from time to time, and it was in abundance here, she knew something unusual was going on and didn't like it. Besides the environment herself, there were other oddities Michi had noticed. For starters, she was no hungrier now than when she had found herself here countless hours (or days?) ago. Her last memory of the real world was the meeting with Yasuo Akiyama, which as she recalled was in the morning. Throughout her time in this bubble, her appetite was that of someone starting to count down the minutes until lunchtime. If she had been in this place as long as she thought, wouldn't she be starving by now?

On the other end was the fact that Michi had not needed to go to the bathroom. She had wanted to since before meeting Yasuo, but it had never become a crisis. Despite being isolated in the same place for so long, the only time she thought about it was to consider how strange it was.

Convenient, perhaps, but it wasn't right. Michi stood up and paced around the room again. She had already scoured the walls for some sort of exit and was not surprised to find nothing once again.

"Hey!" she shouted, hoping to get a reply this time, "If this is my purpose, how come I'm not doing anything?" She was surprised at how angry she sounded. Letting loose with her true emotions, especially after the incident with Koji, was not something that came naturally to her.

"You are doing much to power this program. Continued output will be necessary in order for the program to successfully operate."

It was only the second time she had heard it, but it was another clue that something was wrong here: the voice resembled her own. Not the outward voice that everybody else heard either- this was her own voice the way she had always known it. Only it was in a monotone, with an almost robotic use of language.

Her curiosity finally got the better of her: "What program? What's going on?"

"The purpose of this program is to eradicate the excess data found in this system."

She probably could have deconstructed the statement to get a vague idea of what was happening, but it didn't answer the important question- where she fit into it all. "I don't understand. What system?"

The program responded by displaying an view of the Tokyo skyline, and the chaos engulfing it. It had covered a substantial portion of the visible area, piling high enough to completely swallow all but the massive high-rises downtown.

The implied damage snapped Michi out of her funk immediately. She stepped forward to get a closer look at the chaos. "Oh my God, are people getting hurt?"

"Affirmative," droned D-Reaper, clearly not programmed for remorse.

Before Michi could protest, another image flashed in front of her. This time, it was a hideous red giant with eyes all over its body. It had a girl captive in its arms while a woman tried to rescue her. After attacking some unknown target off-screen, Michi got a clear view of the monster grabbing the woman and throwing her against the side of a building.

Michi gasped and struggled to remain standing, horrified by the footage but unable to look away. The image continued to stay on the woman. As Michi got a first glimpse of the victim's face, her eyes widened.

"Is that..."

"Subject identified as Tally Onodera," D-Reaper replied.

Michi felt nauseous. "Aunt Tally... is she..."

"Subject has been terminated."

She suddenly became dizzy and fell onto her backside. She clutched her stomach as she tried desperately not to throw up. She still had no idea what was going on, but somehow her presence in this chamber was causing destruction. Not only were people getting killed, one was her own aunt. She was causing all this, but she had no way to escape and no way to control it.

Michi turned to her side, her knees sliding up towards her stomach. As tears started to stream down her face, D-Reaper got just the energy surge it was looking for.

* * *

As Riley drove the truck back to headquarters, TK tried to figure out his exact feelings over Tally's death. His wife was dead, yet he didn't feel the agonizing grief he would have anticipated. Time and separation could have been to blame, but TK wanted to believe that love knew no boundaries. He was now faced with the reality that her flame had somehow never died while his had been flickering on and off even before the Sealing. 

The biggest source of friction between TK and Tally had been her lack of interest in Digimon. She had been enchanted by his writing, and thought Frontier was not so much about Digimon as it was a carefully-disguised allegory about the state of international politics (this was partially true, but TK was never pretentious enough to admit it publicly). Outside the world of fiction, Tally saw Digimon as foreign, troublesome and sometimes dangerous. While TK worked with Matt and Tai to advocate Digimon rights throughout the world, and Sora and Riley followed their husbands step-for-step, Tally stayed behind.

The difference, and Sora and Kari had driven this point home years later in the Digital World, was that the Digimon rights movement had blossomed before Michi or Terry had been born, but while Takuya was an infant. Upon reflection, TK had always carried some guilt about not being a better father, but surmised that his work helping Digimon made up for any loss of karma. Tally had always felt otherwise.

So what did it mean that Tally was not only helping Riley support Takato's world, but that she blindly threw herself into it just to see him?

"How did she get involved with all this?" TK asked.

Riley nodded, not looking away from the road. "When Yasuo implemented the Hypnos program, the researchers who created this world wanted someone on the inside. I didn't want to go in alone and Aya couldn't accept the risk, so I talked Tally into it."

"I knew she was good at computers, but was she qualified to operate Hypnos?"

"She knew more than you'd realize. Computers became her hobby. She had plenty of time to kill while you were away."

TK closed his eyes and nodded. It didn't sound like an accusation, but it still stung. "So she just stayed with you?"

"She didn't have to. The first time D-Reaper came, we all stood up against Yasuo. I wasn't going to force her into that. She fought because she wanted to."

Riley paused to make a turn, but continued right away. "I don't know if she was like Mari and dreamed of this world someday undoing the Sealing, but she was motivated by something. She never became too attached to Digimon, so... well, there's only one other reason she would support something like this."

TK's head slumped. "And here I just wanted to skip it and go home."

"You were one of the 'no' votes, I take it?" Riley said.

"We all had doubts... except for Cody. In the end, they couldn't stand by and watch this happen to Takato. I have nothing against helping Takato, but not at the risk of losing Patamon for good."

"Right..." Riley replied, half-heartedly.

"That's why Kari voted against it. She made that very clear."

Without warning, and without any sign of trouble on the road, Riley slammed on the brakes. TK reeled forward before being restrained by his seatbelt, then turned to her.

"What happened?" TK asked, his heartbeat quickening.

Riley just stared forward, her breathing labored. She turned, slowly, to TK and said, "You mean _Kari_ didn't want to help?"

"Maybe it doesn't mean as much to the others because they've never lost Digimon before. But Kari and I know just how much of a blessing Digimon regeneration is. Can you blame her for being afraid to fight without it?"

Riley finally sighed, shook her head, and continued driving.

"I guess not. It just surprises me. As skeptical as Joe was, I would have thought it was him."

"Joe's like that. He always considers what would happen if things went wrong. Now that so many things have, you can see why it's good to know." TK looked out the window. While they were at a safe distance, D-Reaper still loomed over the Shinjuku skyline. "He was borderline. So was Izzy. But when we were talking in private, Kari was the only one who really argued against helping. That convinced me."

"Amazing. Even with Takato?"

"The well-being of our Digimon will always take priority over Takato." TK paused for a moment, then let out a stifled chuckle. "Funny how after all this time I'm still putting Digimon ahead of Tally's interests."

"As long as you're helping now. You're going to have to keep fighting, even after this."

TK seemed to ignore Riley's comment and kept going. "Crazy thing is- Kari was right. We stuck our necks out too far this time. Even if we win, we can't deny that. When Joe almost lost Gomamon, he had to have thought that." He shook his head, a sad smile forming. "Kari was definitely right. But right doesn't mean anything. Nothing feels right anymore."

A sudden pang of guilt struck him, and his face lost all expression, his eyes drifting downward. "Especially with Kari," he mumbled.

There was a long pause as TK recognized that regardless of the circumstances that could have helped justify it, he had not even been faithful to his wife.

"You and Kari had an affair in the Digital World, didn't you?" Riley asked.

"How do you know about that?" TK muttered, stewing in remorse.

Riley sighed. "Tally told me."

TK looked up at her. "She knew?"

"The Hypnos system helped us monitor the Digital World here. When it was all over, Tally and I still had access to the system. For some reason, it was suddenly monitoring your Digital World. Now that I think about it, it might have something to do with how Takato got to your world to begin with. Anyway, Tally, uh, checked in on you guys once in a while."

Once again, TK was taken aback. Not only had he been unfaithful, but Tally knew about it and still carried that beautiful smile when he held her hand for the last time.

Sympathetic, Riley said, "Look at it this way- if she hadn't, I would have never found out about Takato."

"She just keeps finding new ways to make me look like an asshole."

"You're not," Riley declared, "You may have made a few mistakes, and she hadn't wanted to admit it, but she loved you this whole time. And what she'd want us to do right now is to keep fighting. Because this isn't over. I still need you here. We have to stop D-Reaper, and we can't let Tally's death interfere. Okay?"

She slowed down and stopped the truck before turning to him and waiting for him to look her in the eyes. He was still a mess, and had an infinite number of things to sort out in his head, but he forced himself to look at her and reply, "Okay."

With a nod, she continued driving.

"Just give me a minute when we get back."

Riley smiled weakly and nodded again. "Of course," she replied.

* * *

At headquarters, they were greeted with the intimidating, yet somehow encouraging sight of Ikkakumon standing at the ready. Riley and TK saw immediately that almost everybody was standing outside. While Sora and Matt were the first to offer their condolences to TK, Riley managed to avoid the mourning session and found Joe standing next to his suddenly-active partner, launching a Harpoon Torpedo towards the chaos. 

"When did he get better?" she asked him.

"He's not up to full strength yet, but we're a bit depleted at the moment so there's no choice," Joe replied, focused solely on the battleground ahead of him.

That's when Riley saw it- only a couple hundred yards ahead, a stream of Bubbles agents were advancing and firing upon any moving target in the vicinity. Takato, Jeri, Rika, Kazu and Cody were back in action as their Digimon, plus Agumon, fought back.

Riley immediately tensed up- this is the farthest D-Reaper had advanced yet. "When did they get so close?"

"Not even twenty minutes ago. The kids are doing a good job up there, but except for Andromon, they don't have much firepower. I figured there's no harm in letting Ikkakumon take some potshots from a distance. He's our best defensive Digimon at the moment."

"Besides Shakkoumon."

Joe frowned. "I assume Shakkoumon's out of the picture for the moment?"

Riley looked back at TK, who was busy listening to whatever Sora was trying to preach. "Not for long," she said as she walked up to check on everybody.

* * *

"Just remember that if you need anything, even if it's just somebody to talk to, let us know," Sora told TK, "Matt's right that we need you and Patamon to get back out there, but not if it means bottling your feelings up. Don't be afraid to feel sad about this. This has been a nightmare, but we'll get through it together." 

TK nodded slowly. "Yeah. I just, uh-"

"TK?" Kari had stepped outside from the headquarters and approached him, wrapping one arm around him before he was fully ready to receive it.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered.

His body stiffened, shirking her arm away almost reflexively. She struggled to keep her balance, and struggled more to grasp the cold gesture.

"TK...?"

As TK stared at her, his hands started to shake. Then he sprinted for the doors and went inside.

"What?" Kari was shaken herself. She planted her crutches, about to go after him, when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't," Matt said, "You're probably not the best person for him to talk to right now."

"Why not?"

"Remember how I said there were consequences to you and TK being together?" Sora said, "Considering how he treated her, a lot of things must be going through his head right now." She sighed and looked at Kari. "You're probably one of them."

* * *

The sheer number of agents in front of the group meant nobody had to wait for open targets. Ankylomon took the offensive, targeting the chaos while Leomon and Renamon gave him plenty of cover. As the only U-Level in the field, Andromon attacked often, but was busy keeping the humans safe from whatever came their way. Agumon helped out with this regard, and despite being a rookie he was well-rested and doing plenty of damage. 

Veemon, however, wasn't as productive.

"Come on, Veemon, isn't there anything you can do?" Takato said in frustration.

"They're too high for me to reach! If I can't digivolve, I can't attack from a distance."

Takato grumbled as he stared across at the looming chaos. As impressive as Ankylomon or Andromon looked, the "kids" in the thick of the battle couldn't help but feel apprehensive. Besides Takato, none of them knew Tally that well. Having lost his memory, Cody didn't know her at all. While Rika, Kazu and Jeri knew her as just "that other Hypnos girl." They weren't overwhelmed with grief, and therefore received the task of maintaining an attack while the Chosen who had known her could mourn properly. It was a real death, however, and regardless of who it was it struck a rather pensive chord among all of them.

Ignoring the artillery firing overhead, Riley approached them, managing to stay professional. "How are you doing?"

"We can keep the agents under control, but that thing keeps growing," Cody replied, "We might have to fall back soon."

"Where's Izzy?"

"Izzy and Mari are packing up whatever they can, just in case we have to move," Rika answered.

Judging by the rapid growth D-Reaper was experiencing, Riley surmised that they wouldn't have time to relocate again.

"To the right!" Takato shouted. Riley looked up in time to see a Bubbles agent preparing to open fire.

"Pepper Breath!" Agumon took care of it.

"Agumon? Why are you here?" Riley asked. Not that she minded, but Agumon was considered Terry's partner.

"I'm the emergency backup. Matt considered this close enough," Agumon replied.

"Where's Terry?"

"Inside with Izzy and Mari," Agumon answered quickly, then fired another shot at another agent.

"Terry asked me to watch him," Takato clarified.

Riley nodded; with D-Reaper surging again, they were getting desperate. Matt had always been a rational leader, so the thought of him calling up Agumon was pretty jarring.

"I suppose Matt's related to her too," Kazu stated.

"In-laws, but yes," Riley replied, somewhat annoyed at the small-talk in the heat of battle.

"That's crazy- that means Michi's related to her too."

Riley nodded sadly. "Tally was her aunt."

"That must be why it's getting stronger all of a sudden," Jeri said, startling everybody.

Cody wanted clarification. "Because of Tally?"

"She must know what happened to Tally, and I'm sure D-Reaper is twisting it to make it seem like it's Michi's fault."

"The blood of a relative. That'll do it," Rika said.

Jeri looked up at a fixed point in the chaos. They couldn't see the Kernal Sphere from that location, but Jeri stared at it anyway. "It will do everything in its power to draw as much negative energy from the source as it needs. As strong as we are, it needs Michi to be in that much more pain."

Now Riley found herself looking through the chaos. She had tried to keep Michi out of the equation, but if D-Reaper had not yet tapped into the full level of its energy source, then they needed to somehow get her out before it could.

* * *

For the second time in a day, Ken found himself in front of an unfamiliar doorstep. At least he anticipated a warmer welcome from Janyuu Wong and knocked on the apartment door without hesitation. 

He had considered contacting Janyuu ever since Yolei had mentioned that Izzy's old friends were involved with Takato's world. Of course, just because they were involved then didn't mean they were involved now. Once Ryo explained Janyuu's role in the other world and his active participation in saving it from Yasuo, however, Ken became convinced that this was the man to talk to.

The door was answered, however, by a girl- barely in her teens.

"Yes?" she answered sweetly.

Ken composed himself and asked, "Is Janyuu home?"

"Whom should I say is looking for him?" she asked, sounding more eager to show off her grammar than to actually be of service.

"My name's Ken Ichijouji. That should be enough for him."

At least Ken hoped it was: they had only met once, briefly, and that was more than fifteen years ago.

The girl turned around and swung the door shut behind her. Ken heard her yell out, "Henry! There's another suspicious character at the door!"

"Little brat," Ken muttered to himself.

The door opened again. This time it was Henry, and Henry didn't look too pleased.

"What do _you_ want?" Henry sounded irritated.

"I need to speak with your father."

"Sue told me that. What's it about?"

"Well, I work with the city police and I'm trying to find some missing people. I'm afraid they might be in danger, and I think your dad can help me find them."

Henry raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Why would Dad be able to help?"

"It has to do with a project he was involved in. I don't know how much he told you about it."

"I know enough," Henry replied, narrowing his eyes, "I can't help you."

"You don't know where he is?"

"I can't tell you. I can't let him get into trouble."

Ken wasn't expecting Henry to be more defiant than Ryo, but then realized that Henry may not know which side Ken was on.

"Listen, Henry is it?"

Henry nodded.

"Henry, my name's Ken Ichijouji. You may not remember it all that well, but I'm one of the Odaiba Chosen. You were friends with Mari Izumi, right? Her dad was one too."

The reference to Mari seemed to work, as Henry flinched as soon as she was mentioned. "Did Mari send you here?" he asked.

"No, but Mari's mother helped fill me in on the details. I know your father helped create another world and I know that it is somehow connected with two missing people- Michi Grant, another child of the Chosen, and a boy from that world named Takato Matsuki."

Henry clutched his head. "You're involved with Takato too?"

"You know about him?" Ken asked, only slightly surprised.

"Don't get me started with Takato. What about Michi? First time I heard that name."

"Michi may be in serious danger right now, and I need to find out what's going on in that world to see if it can help save her."

"And you need my Dad for that?" Henry said, adding an exasperated sigh.

"Yes."

Another sigh from Henry. Then he conceded, "I'll show you where he is on one condition- I go with you."

Ken opened his mouth, but couldn't decide whether he was concerned or confused about the terms.

"On the way, you tell me what you know and what you plan on doing." Henry stepped forward and looked Ken in the eyes. "I'm trusting you here. Give me a reason not to and you'll never find him."

He spooked Ken enough to leave Ken speechless. Henry went back inside to grab a jacket and, presumably, explain everything to Sue.

As he waited outside, Ken's cell phone rang. "Yolei?" he answered immediately.

"I'm still at the airport. The plane was delayed for a couple hours. How is everything?" Yolei said.

"Things are falling into place," he replied, "Just to be safe, we need to do this today."

Ken heard silence on the other end. He wasn't one to rush, but the plan would work best if everything happened too fast for anybody to respond. It still hinged on what he found out from Janyuu, but hesitating would be disastrous if anything went wrong.

"Where and when do we meet?"

Ken took a deep breath. "Four o'clock. Downtown Shinjuku. Pass it on to Davis."

"Right."

That was the extent of the conversation. Few specifics and no hint of what cards Ken had available. Of course, at the moment, Ken's ability to play them rested solely in the hands of Henry Wong.

* * *

For better or for worse, Riley put to rest any notion that the team would be retreating. There was too much work and too little time for such a process. Izzy and Mari were told to unpack whatever they had boxed up. Henry was to help assess the current status of everything. Terry got a better deal- given the situation and his general uselessness, Riley asked if he wanted to go home. Terry politely declined. 

"I've been in here way too long to leave it before you do," he said. Riley made no attempt to convince him otherwise.

So Riley went back to monitoring the situation and trying to make a useful interpretation out of the information Janyuu was feeding her. Terry went out to check on Agumon and, with Mari completely uninterested in any of the usual "catching up" discussions, she and her father found themselves discussing bio-merging.

"Takato told me about it in the Digital World. I didn't believe him," he admitted.

"Why not? I had been under the impression that the theory was always present."

"Calling it a theory is misleading. More like blind speculation shared by a small number of researchers. Although I remember Shibumi being one of them."

After pouring himself a cup of coffee, Izzy continued, "Truth is, we didn't know what would happen if anybody ever reached a synch level of 400. Nobody ever did. Most of us thought it was impossible and most of the rest of us figured it was either a level above Mega or merely strengthened an already-existing M-Level."

Mari remained inquisitive. "What about TK's book? Humans turning into Digimon?"

"Outright fiction. Spawned some 'what if' articles, but nobody thought it could really happen. TK was just setting himself apart from the other quadrillion Digimon stories."

"Can Tentomon digivolve to Mega?" she asked.

"Yes."

Mari raised an eyebrow. "Really? How?"

A good point- Mari and Izzy both knew the discoveries that had been made here. The Digital World naturally inhibited M-Level digivolution. Even at the required synch level of 300, an additional force was required to allow a partner to digivolve to Mega- sort of a divine approval to make sure a human couldn't use a Mega to cause harm. Dubbed "Gennai's Law," it had limited the number of humans with partners capable of digivolving to Mega to the single digits at the time of the Sealing. Despite almost all of the Japanese Chosen having a synch level above 300, only three of their Digimon could go Mega.

"After we arrived in the Digital World, Azulongmon bestowed us with that power. But I see your point. The Tamers needed a way to cheat Gennai's Law."

"The Digimon Sovereign were their enemies for a time. Bio-merging forced it through."

"Bet the Sovereign weren't happy about that," Izzy replied with a smile, "But it doesn't change the fact that the logistics of it happening are ludicrous. In the Digital World, perhaps, because the human body is converted to data. But this is supposed to be the real world. A purely organic life form fusing with pure independent data?"

Mari smiled slyly. "Therein lies the secret. Who said it merged the purely organic with pure data?"

Izzy didn't understand. "But they were. I was always under the impression that MAXIS worlds were incompatible with the Digital World. The two have completely different compositions."

"Correct. I worked around that."

"Mari, the point I'm making is that even if bio-merging was feasible under your specifications, either both parties would need to be pure data, like in DNA digivolving, or one of the two would need to be both organic and data- a Hybrid."

"Exactly. Dobermon was."

Izzy stared at Mari for awhile. She had already explained that part, but it then began to fill in for him- when the Tamers' Digimon absorbed Dobermon's data, they too became Hybrids... thus allowing bio-merging in the real world.

"Prodigious..." he mumbled.

"In addition, since Ryo was already a Hybrid, he and Cyberdramon did not need our support."

"You are a genius," Izzy said, in awe. The remark forced Mari to smile as her face became a slightly redder shade of pale.

"True," she replied as she composed herself, "Although that now appears to be our flaw. When Riley brought you here, this world recognized you as purely human. I had hoped that since you were imported from the Digital World, you would be recognized as data."

Izzy nodded at that, then raised a finger in a moment of epiphany. "But anyone who was originally a Hybrid would stay a Hybrid here, correct?"

"Of course."

Then Izzy sighed as his finger dropped. "But Cody isn't anywhere close to 400 with Armadillomon. He's hovering around 250."

Mari shook her head, unsurprised that Cody was a Hybrid. "Naturally, the only one capable of bio-merging is in no position to do so. Unless..."

As she trailed off, Henry burst in and interrupted both Mari and her thought process.

"You two might want to get downstairs. I think we're at the point where we can call this a crisis."

"Is D-Reaper growing that fast?" Izzy asked.

"Worse, its territory is starting to shrink," Henry replied as he dashed out the door.

Izzy turned to his daughter. "How is that bad?"

Mari stared at the door. She gulped and answered, "D-Reaper is evolving."

* * *

As ominous as it was, Kari found the sight of D-Reaper shifting from horizontal to vertical growth mesmerizing. She sat, alone, on a bench on a nearby pedestrian bridge where she had a clear view of the phenomenon. The pools of chaos, once churning outward, were now elevating themselves, climbing over already-established areas to reach new heights. While she knew it was a destructive program created and executed by humans, the process of D-Reaper's final evolution appeared to be inspired by something more divine. A giant flower reaching full bloom in front of her eyes. A stop-motion movie projected across the entire skyline. God was ending the world just as masterfully as He had created it. 

At the very pinnacle of Mother D-Reaper was that red sphere containing Michi. Kari stared at that distant orb and tried not to think of what it was doing to Michi. It was doing enough to everybody else. Tally's death was just the breaking point; when TK coldly refused Kari's sympathy, Kari had the urge to do nothing but find someplace quiet and watch the curtain come down.

Even after voting against helping, Kari had tried to show her support for it. She and Salamon fought as well as anybody, and all witnesses agreed that Takato and Veemon would not have survived had it not been for Gatomon's dynamic digivolution. She loved Takato, but as the situation grew worse and worse, it came closer and closer to confirming what Kari had dreaded since Riley's briefing.

Perhaps it was the close calls with Gomamon, Veemon or Birdramon. Perhaps the revelation that D-Reaper was being powered by Sora and Matt's daughter. Perhaps it hadn't sunk in until a life was actually lost. In any event, all of the Chosen had by now recognized this as a major miscalculation- a charitable cause gone fatally awry. Those who had supported it still clung to the hope of a last-ditch plan from Matt or Riley. Kari wanted to believe, but found herself unable to tolerate the optimism that cursed them in the first place. She was so emotionally tapped that she was now content with sitting by and watching it all come down. Win or lose, she would never see her spouse again like TK. Win or lose, she would never see her child again like Izzy. With everybody, including Takato and her Digimon, going down together, winning or losing didn't seem to matter anymore.

She tried not to acknowledge the sound of feet clanging up the staircase. Not wanting anybody to see her in a rare moment of resignation, Kari wanted to be left alone, but she would never be mistaken for hiding perched up on the bridge. Finally, she sat back at waited for whomever it was. It was Cody.

"Here you are. Matt told me to come get you."

Kari nodded slowly, not taking her eyes away from D-Reaper.

"In its own ugly way, it's kind of pretty," she said to him.

"What do you mean?" Cody sat down beside her. "All I see is a monster trying to destroy this world."

"It is. It's just incredible that we all thought we could beat it so easily. Now look at it."

Cody looked at her, his eyes narrowing. "This is no time for gloating about being right. We're running out of time to stop it!"

"I'll be there. Don't worry. I'll get Salamon in the battle soon enough. I just need to prepare myself for what might happen."

"Don't think like that. We can't let it happen. If it does, then everything Joe said about Daemon would-"

"I'm not worried about that. Like it or not, we chose to do this and we need to accept the consequences."

Cody opened his mouth, but paused before asking her to clarify. In fact, Kari was clinging to a fairly ambitious faith to believe her Digital World and her real world were not doomed: if an eminent threat was present and there were no digi-destined to stop it, wouldn't the forces of the Digital World find a way to create new digi-destined?

"Win or lose, there are consequences to us being here," Kari added.

Cody understood immediately. "Tally..."

"As painful as it may be to stand aside, there are some battles that we can't afford to fight. Tally's gone and Michi is in danger because of us."

"But the only reason Tally and Michi were here in the first place was to help Takato. They didn't stand aside, and there was no way they knew what they were getting themselves into."

Kari lifted her head. Perhaps it was unpopular to think about, but Cody was right- Tally and Michi weren't chosen randomly. Fair or not, they had entered the picture for a reason. It was the same reason the Chosen were here.

Cody continued, "We probably thought a lot more about the risk involved than they did. So what right do we have to think about it now? We can't let this thing take over. That's all you need to dwell on. We must win."

Kari looked at D-Reaper again. Suddenly, she again could see it as the abomination it was. It was gluttonous, evil, and it needed to be destroyed.

She turned to Cody. "You always were the most mature out of all of us," she told the child.

Cody smiled back. "I had good parents."

Despite the compliment, Kari leaned back and frowned. Now she understood why TK had avoided her. Their affair was never meant to be a slight on Tally, but through everything it sure felt like it. Now here was Cody, the physical embodiment of his infidelity.

"What's wrong?" Cody asked.

She turned away as she replied, "You know Tally was TK's wife, right?"

"Yeah. Why, how well did you know her?"

"It's not that. It's just that now that she's gone, I feel really bad about being with TK."

"So what does that make me?"

Kari looked at him. He kept a straight face, waiting for her to answer. She couldn't.

"Because I would have been reborn regardless of what happened, right?"

"Yeah," she mumbled in response. It was true, but the circumstances of how he was reborn still changed the situation. It left her embarrassed, ashamed, and in a great deal of pain. It also changed her relationship with Cody- she was now his mother.

"So why is it suddenly such a bad thing that you're my mother? You and TK were together anyway, and because of that I was able to come back the way I did. Besides, why should you feel more guilt now because of what happened to Tally? If Tally was such a concern, you would have considered it at the beginning, right?"

"We did. She was just... very easy to forget about. Same with my husband."

"So I guess you have to think about what you two are doing now?"

Kari nodded slowly.

"Good." Cody smiled. "Something to look forward to after we beat this."

His words startled her. A sudden change of subject with a sudden burst of confidence snapped her back into reality. With his presence, her mind strayed away from D-Reaper. Cody somehow had managed to send it back on a more productive course- one which had a future after D-Reaper. She had too much to take care of- not the least of which was Cody himself, who was destined to make the best of his adulthood the second time around.

She nodded. "Right. Let's do this."

As Kari reached for her crutches, Cody linked his arm around hers and started to lead her away. Kari called out, "Hey, wait, I need to..." but he wasn't stopping. Leaving the crutches behind, Cody just kept on going.

And so did she.

Somehow, she was walking, almost jogging, step for step with Cody as they descended the ramp and started along the street towards D-Reaper. Somehow Cody knew she didn't need the crutches. Kari quickly discovered that he was right.

"Where are we going?" Kari asked.

"To stop D-Reaper. Where else?" Cody said.

"But our Digimon are back at headquarters!"

Cody smiled and turned back to the target. "We don't need them."

* * *

Ken explained everything he knew to Henry- who Takato was, the significance of the other world, and the likelihood that whatever was happening with the other world was somehow connected to Michi. Henry was satisfied with the explanation, and added that where they were headed, someone had hacked into this world to allow access to it- supposedly to fight some program called D-Reaper which was trying to destroy it. 

This information was the last piece of the puzzle. Ryo had explained D-Reaper in vivid detail, and Ken now knew exactly what needed to be done.

"Okay, this is definitely the block. I remember these houses," Henry said for the third time. Having only been to the place once, Henry's directions were understandably imperfect. Thankfully, this time he was right, and pointed to a house with two cars parked in the garage. "That's it. That's Dad's car."

"You know what to do, right?"

Henry sighed. "Why do I have to?"

"You guys have to end this yourselves. I can't force you to do it, but it's the only way this will be settled," Ken answered as they pulled into the driveway.

Ken nodded at Henry and the younger man knocked on the door. After a moment of hesitation Janyuu asked, "Who's there?"

"Seems nervous," Ken mumbled.

"Dad, it's me!" Henry replied.

"Henry? You should have called," Janyuu said as he opened the door. "Did you take the train or-" he stopped the moment he saw Ken.

"Good afternoon, Janyuu. My name's Ken Ichijouji."

"Ken... Ichijouji... the Chosen?" As Janyuu stammered his way through the introductions, Henry sneaked into the house and headed to the computers.

"Yes. I've been investigating the situation and have come here to take care of it," Ken replied.

"How so?" Janyuu narrowed his eyes.

They widened and he turned his head back the moment he heard his son yell from the office, "Are you sure about this?"

Janyuu ran into the other room, with Ken following. Ken cried out, "Janyuu, stop! He knows what he needs to do."

"No!" was all Janyuu could say as Henry's finger hovered over the power button on the central computer.

"Sorry, Dad," Henry replied without looking up.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm ending this." Henry looked up once at Ken, then back down again.

"But they'll all be trapped! There won't be any way to stop it!"

"As I said... I'm ending this."

He held the button long enough for all four monitors to go black simultaneously.

Janyuu's jaw fell. He sunk into a chair. "No release valve for D-Reaper... no gate to let Riley out... no more data for them to use... It's over, all right."

Without saying a word, Ken walked out. Janyuu stared at his son, still on his knees in front of the tower.

"He put you up to this, didn't he?" Janyuu asked.

Henry looked up at his father. "He didn't force me. This was my decision."

Janyuu jumped to his feet and chased after Ken. "Mr. Ichijouji!" he shouted as Ken left the house. Following him out, Janyuu saw Ken stop in front of his car.

Ken stared back. "This had to end."

"You don't understand. That whole world was for you and the Chosen. By cutting off our access like that... there's no hope left. You don't realize how many lives are in danger now."

"That's not my concern," Ken replied coldly, "As of right now, it's not your concern either. If you want the full story, ask your son. He pushed the button."

Before Janyuu could protest further, Ken entered his car, started it, and pulled out of the driveway. He was surprised at how little sympathy he felt for Janyuu. In the end, however, Ken knew what he had done and regretted nothing. After all, his job was to save Michi, not to save an alternate world that meant nothing to him.

* * *

Of all the things to further complicate the mission, a basic computer glitch should have been the least of Riley's concerns. Instead, she yelled for any nearby techie that could hear her. 

"What's wrong?" Izzy asked as he, his daughter and Henry ran into the room.

"Programming skills aside, any of you three know tech support?" Riley sat back in her chair and grumbled, "I think the network is stalled. It's not refreshing the numbers."

The three looked around at the other screens. All the visual representations of the data, which normally had shown minor adjustments every five seconds or so, were eerily static. Even during a slow period, D-Reaper was always doing something; now that it was trying to evolve, the displays should have been extremely active.

"I don't suppose you can ping it or something?" Henry suggested.

Riley shook her head. "That only works from outside the system. Right now, we are the system. The data comes from in from outside. Janyuu would have to ping us."

"Have you contacted him?" Mari asked, leaning in and glaring at the main screen.

"I sent him a message, but no response. But for all we know, he could just be out to lunch."

"Does your system say he's online?" Izzy asked.

"He sends messages through the internal Hypnos system. It's not like a basic IM program- there's no clear way to tell if he's on or not."

"Check Hypnos then. He is logged on your account. See if it is still active," Mari said.

Riley took a deep breath and did so. The system allowed her access to the real world, and to open a gate between the two- but only if there was a user on the other end waiting to receive it. If the user had logged off, such functions would appear disabled.

Just as they were, much to Riley's increasing dismay. "He's offline," she whispered.

"What does that mean?" Henry asked.

"It means we no longer have a link to the outside world," Mari answered, frowning, "Which, in turn, provides us with our information."

"And provided the release necessary to flush D-Reaper out of this system," Riley paused and then, barely able to comprehend it herself, added, "And was the only way for Terry, Mari and I to leave."

Izzy and Henry fell silent. Mari looked down. Riley wanted to take a moment herself to grasp what had just happened, but her cell phone broke everyone out of their trances.

"Yes?" Riley answered swiftly and professionally.

"This is absolutely incredible!" Takato, with a newfound enthusiasm, was on the other end. His tone certainly was a jolt to Riley. "I don't know what Mari just did but tell her it worked great!"

"Uh... hold on." Riley set the phone aside and looked at Mari. "Were you working on something up there?"

"No. I have been decidedly useless since my arrival," Mari answered curtly.

"What do you mean? What's going on over there?" Riley asked Takato.

Takato's response was just as bright. "We're not sure either, but it's awesome! It has to be a Mega, or M-Level, or whatever."

Riley looked at the other three in the room. Mari and Henry stared back blankly. Izzy shrugged his shoulders.

"We'll be down there in a second," she concluded.

* * *

He? She? It? They? Whatever pronoun was appropriate, the new Digimon had no trouble using its twin shinai to slice through the wave of Bubbles that had come out to greet it. 

"That was easy," Kari said with a chuckle. She still wasn't entirely sure what was happening, but between the overwhelming righteousness she felt and the notion that Cody carried no trepidation about this whatsoever, she just went with it.

"I'm sure it'll get harder the higher we go," Cody replied, from wherever he was. Kari was almost in sensory deprivation- she only knew she was still in her body because she saw it when she looked down. Cody's voice, on the other hand, had no origin point. Either he did not have a body anymore, or she was encapsulated in it.

"Well, let's find out," Kari said, urging him up the face of Mother D-Reaper.

Without having seen what she was a part of, she knew what it looked like: it was only slightly taller than a human- maybe eight or nine feet tall. Under the bogu headgear, completely obscuring the Digimon's face, was long, cerulean armor and a black hakama that exposed only a glimpse of bare feet. The most glorious feature was the set of white wings it used to glide higher up D-Reaper's edifice.

Cody was right- about halfway up, a pair of disfigured golden arms impeded their progress, launching a legion of agents at them. Using its swords, the Digimon was able to block their attacks, while looking over at the new menace- yet another new agent, this time a tall but shapeless creature sprouting out from the ground. Its purple upper body gave way to a pair of thin wings and the two immense arms preventing any further escalation.

For now, Optimizer was content with blocking the new Digimon while letting the Bubbles do the dirty work. The swift M-Level had no trouble defending itself and every attack it made took out several agents in one slice. There was no end in sight, however, and Kari began to tire.

"Don't stop!" Cody shouted.

"We can't keep this up!" Kari replied.

They continued battling, but the stalemate continued. For every Bubbles that they destroyed, more came to take its place. After minutes of constant fighting, nothing was being accomplished.

From behind them, they heard a deep voice scream, "Kodomon! Look out!!"

Registering the name of their Digimon, Kari and Cody saw Optimizer shooting an energy beam from its mouth. Kodomon dodged out of the way and saw a giant, green insectoid Digimon charge past them.

"Giga Blaster!" HerculesKabuterimon shouted as it launched its attack at the Optimizer. The blast connected, disrupting the agent enough to force its hands to its sides and the wave of Bubbles to stop momentarily.

"Izzy sent me here as soon as he found out," he explained to Kodomon, "I'll take care of this thing. Go get Michi!"

"Right!" Kodomon replied as it flew past Optimizer and toward the Kernal Sphere once more.

Naturally, the evolving D-Reaper positioned the Kernal Sphere as its brain, and encased this brain with a protective skull made up of one final agent- Gatekeeper. Besides serving as a protective casing around the Kernal Sphere, Gatekeeper also had a ring of jagged edges, one of which dislodged itself and flew at Kodomon as soon as it drew near.

Kodomon slashed through that one, but more followed. Again, Kodomon had no trouble avoiding any damage, but D-Reaper's resistance prevented any clean attack on the Kernal Sphere. Kodomon afforded a moment to check on HerculesKabuterimon, but it was still busy dueling with Optimizer. With no other options, Kodomon continued to plow forward, blocking Gatekeeper's attacks as they came and inching closer to Michi.

Finally, as it stopped in front of the Kernal Sphere, Kodomon managed to anticipate a break in the attacks and took one single shot at penetrating the Kernal Sphere.

It barely made a scratch.

"We're going to need a fully-charged attack!" Kari exclaimed.

"Then let me give you some room," a new voice beamed from below. "Angel Rod!" MagnaAngemon cried, taking out two of Gatekeeper's blades.

"MagnaAngemon? If you're out here it must mean TK..."

"TK's not going to leave you to do this alone. I'll take care of these things- just get through that sphere!"

"Right!" Kodomon replied. As MagnaAngemon shielded Kodomon, Kodomon brought its swords together, lifted them overhead, and struck down upon the Kernal Sphere.

"Dual Parry!" it shouted as the attack landed. At first, it did not penetrate, but Kodomon refused to give up and Kari and Cody each willed the attack through. Finally, a crack began to form and in a moment the swords sliced through the sphere, cutting a gash right through the center. Globs of pink ooze began to leak from the bottom and they could make out a smaller egg inside with a large crack through it.

"Yes!" Kodomon shouted.

A ghastly scream drowned it out, and every remaining blade in Gatekeeper's arsenal fired simultaneously at both Kodomon and MagnaAngemon, ripping through their armor and knocking them downwards. By the time they recovered, the entire headpiece of Mother D-Reaper began to gyrate rapidly, as splashes of chaos began to spew randomly out of its body. Two Horn Striker agents popped out of the mass and took a swing at each Digimon, knocking them further downward. As the Digimon allowed themselves to fall further, the Horn Strikers vanished back into the chaos.

Below them, HerculesKabuterimon had finished off the Optimizer, but a Creep Hands suddenly launched itself out, punching the defenseless bug. HerculesKabuterimon fell, reverting back into Tentomon.

"What's going on?" Kodomon asked.

After catching Tentomon, MagnaAngemon shook his head. "I don't know, but it's too unstable to stick around. Come on!"

Dodging outbursts of chaos and the random agent the whole way, the two Digimon descended to ground level and flew out to greet the rest of the team, already starting to retreat. The nearest side of D-Reaper started to collapse, gushing chaos from its summit all the way to the base, spreading wildly toward the group. Most of the humans and Digimon were able to stay ahead of the crimson avalanche, but there were exceptions that needed a boost.

"Armadillomon!" With a shout, Kodomon instinctively transferred both of its shinai to one hand and raised the other towards Armadillomon. In moments, the Rookie began to glow and evolve.

"Tail Hammer!" In seconds, Ankylomon was formed and trying to repel the surge. A few scattered Digimon like Andromon and Leomon joined in to help, but there seemed to be no stopping the wave.

"That's not going to do it!" Henry shouted as Gargomon jumped in.

MagnaAngemon descended next to them. "Gate of Destiny," he called. The gate drew in some chaos, but quickly dissolved the portal itself. Furthermore, the others' attacks were only serving to divert the path of the chaos rather than block it.

"This is not helping," Mari observed as the chaos started to encircle the few Digimon standing in its way, as well as Henry, Kazu and Jeri standing alongside their partners.

"So let's step it up." Before the chaos could completely trap them, TK jumped into the circle and looked up at Kodomon.

Kodomon stared back at him. The father was smiling as clutched his digivice. "Ready?" TK asked.

"Ready!" Cody and Kari replied as Kodomon held a hand up.

"Ankylomon..."

"Angemon..."

"DNA Digivolve to Shakkoumon!"

A few Justice Beam attacks finally began to subdue the rushing chaos. The supporting Digimon could, and did, clean up the rest.

Kodomon dropped a few feet and hovered near TK. TK looked it over- the unlikely bio-merge between Kari and Cody. After scrutinizing every minor detail of Kodomon's exterior composition, TK could only nod and grin.

"Very nice," he said.

In the distance, despite the "leak," the core of D-Reaper remained active. Various agents leaped out of the chaos, only to reach the end of an apparently short cable and go bouncing back in. Either way, its instability made a second attack unfeasible, so Kodomon landed and began to glow. A few seconds later, Cody and Kari stood there, appearing as normal as they would ever get.

TK took a cautious step towards them, then bounded forward and caught Kari just as her legs gave out.

"Are you okay?" he asked hurriedly.

She was breathless, and needed a few moments to compose herself, glancing at both TK and Cody several times. Finally, she took a deep breath and said, "Flying's fine, but I'm still not used to walking." She turned to TK and smiled brightly, adding, "Good catch, TK."

Again, TK grinned, but this time he shook his head. A tear fell from his eye as he said, "Any time."

With Shakkoumon standing guard, the chaos began to subside. "Looks like it's done," Henry said after carefully watching D-Reaper's regression.

The remainder of the group wasted no time surrounding Kari and Cody, trying to get any sort of feel over what had just happened. As if Kari or Cody knew. The lone exception was Izzy, who patted Mari's shoulder.

"Good work," he said.

"Thanks, Dad," she whispered.

On the front lines, Leomon stepped forward, curiously observing the chaos. "Hey, would someone please explain what's going on with this thing?"

"What do you mean? Kodomon put a gash in the sphere and it sprung a leak," Kazu replied.

Henry and Mari were more suspicious, staring at the chaos from a safe distance. Scratching his chin, Henry said, "Now that Leomon mentions it, this is very strange behavior for D-Reaper. I don't remember it ever gushing like that."

"Furthermore, agents are active at D-Reaper's center but not here," Mari added.

Emerging from the crowd gathered around Kari and Cody, Takato and Riley took a closer look. Takato said, "What Kodomon did though- damaging the Kernal Sphere... that was a good thing, right?"

"Of course it was..." Riley seemed unsure, however, and turned to Jeri. "Right, Jeri?"

Jeri was also staring up at D-Reaper, trying to get a feel for it. "Um... perhaps," she mumbled.

Leomon was still at the forefront, shaking his head. "I don't understand how anybody can figure out-"

"LEOMON, GET BACK HERE!" Jeri shouted, without warning. Though startled, Leomon jumped back towards Jeri, just as the chaos surged forward again. Henry and Mari backpedaled immediately, and Riley quickly gave word for the entire group to retreat.

"Thanks," Leomon muttered to Jeri, both equally flustered. "Sure saved my ass."

Just as soon as the chaos surged, however, it retreated back.

"It stopped again..." Kazu said.

"I say keep moving!" Takato replied.

Everybody agreed with him and retreated back to headquarters as D-Reaper continued to propel itself forward, and then immediately slide itself back. Any permanent advances were barely noticeable. In addition, the towering Mother D-Reaper at the center of town was just as erratic. At times it ballooned out to twice its depth before returning to its original size. It wobbled back and forth, developed the occasional growth on its sides, and in the strangest display of all- periodically erupted chaos from its headpiece like a geyser. For minutes, all anyone could do was watch it.

Finally, Takato asked the only one who could have possibly known what was happening. "Jeri? What's going on?"

After staring at the face of Mother D-Reaper, Jeri's eyes fell to the ground. "We won," she said solemnly.

"Huh?"

"D-Reaper is no longer capable of functioning according to its programming. It won't last like this."

She started to draw a small group over. "Wait, what makes you say that?" Riley asked.

With her eyes still to the floor, Jeri answered, "D-Reaper is only accustomed to dealing with emotional pain. Now it's being forced to accept a completely new type of pain and apparently it's too much."

Henry asked, "What do you mean 'new type of pain?'"

"Physical pain," she said, "That attack cut right through the Kernal Sphere and must have hurt Michi."

Everybody looked up at D-Reaper, wobbling unsteadily in the skyline.

Jeri looked around at the group. "Right now there's three possibilities. All result in D-Reaper's defeat. One is that D-Reaper is so overloaded that it collapses on itself, taking Michi with it."

"We can't let that happen," Takato said, still staring at D-Reaper through narrow eyes. "I'm hoping number two is us pulling her out in time?"

Jeri nodded. "Yes. Without Michi, D-Reaper will not be able to function on this scale."

"That one sounds pretty good, but what's number three?" asked Kazu.

"Before either of the first two happens, Michi bleeds to death."

Only the collective deep breaths among the group were heard. Judging by the suddenly unpredictable nature of D-Reaper's movements, Riley knew Jeri's diagnosis was correct. Regardless of what had transpired, the battle would be over soon and the world would survive. Yet, nobody dared to feel relieved, least of all Riley.

Matt and Sora were not privy to the conversation. They joined in moments later, after the news had sunk in with Riley.

"So what now? Did you figure out what's going on?" Matt asked.

Riley could only stare up at the Kernal Sphere. Even if her war was destined to be won, only one outcome would be acceptable.

"Matt... Sora... you're up."

**To Be Concluded in Stage Eight- "Beginning"**

**Author's Notes**  
We haven't had a good WTF moment in a couple stages, so hopefully the notion of Kari and Cody bio-merging does the trick. It would be a good idea to re-read Level 1: Stage Five, which sets up just about everything regarding TK, Kari and Cody (along with the brief foreshadowing in 1:4 where Cody registered a synch level with Takato).

In a mistake I didn't catch until the very last revision before posting, I originally had Gennai's Law written as Jinnai's Law. While an obvious misspelling, anyone who has seen El Hazard would know that using Jinnai's Law to refer to the inability for humans to use high-powered creatures for malice... is actually just as appropriate.

While the whole Hybrid thing is my way of explaining how the real world bio-merges in Tamers were possible through Doberman (and a way to prevent the Chosen from bio-merging with their partners), it also accidentally explained the plothole in Tamers that allowed Ryo to bio-merge without being anywhere near Dobermon.

The Gatekeeper is the official Japanese name for the ninth agent, and not to be confused with the term used in this canon to refer to scientists given access to the Digital World for purposes of research and regulation. It better not be confused with that silly parody story I wrote a couple years ago.

I cannot reiterate this enough- one more stage, and it's all over.

This ends Level 3: Stage Seven of The Connection.


	8. Beginning

_**Level 3: Experiments**  
_  
**Stage Eight- Beginning**

Yamaki stared at the data one more time, prepping himself for the moment the door would slide open and Yasuo would burst in angrily.

It did slide open, and Yasuo did burst in, but he appeared more annoyed than angry.

"What is it now?" he muttered, "I do have other issues to deal with, you know."

Yamaki sighed and asked, "Do you want the good news or the bad news?"

"I don't have time for this. I thought having a source assured that the world would be wiped out."

As recently as an hour ago, Yamaki would have agreed. While he didn't approve of the decision to insert Michi, he had felt that it would take care of the nuisance Riley was making in there. Two recent developments had changed his mind.

Yamaki explained, starting with what was technically the good news: "First off, there is no longer a second connection into the MAXIS. Whoever is fighting us, they no longer have access to the system."

Yasuo nodded curtly. "Good. That should simplify things."

"Unfortunately, sir, it strands Riley and whomever else is inside. If they're trapped-"

"Then they'll get what they deserve," Yasuo answered with a dismissive wave of his hand, "What else?"

Yamaki dropped that issue and pulled up a new screen- Michi's vital signs.

"A little while ago, D-Reaper started behaving very erratically. Obviously not according to any program, but it doesn't appear to be in response to any of Riley's tactics."

Yasuo glared at the monitor. "Go on."

"I don't know what happened, but these are Michi's vitals- her blood pressure is falling and her nervous system is going crazy. Either she's injured, going into shock, or both."

Yasuo did not react. "Go on," he said again.

"Sir, D-Reaper feeds on pain, and Michi is overloading it. It's going to crash, and I can't predict what will happen when it does."

Leaning forward and glaring at the readings, Yasuo thought for a moment before responding, "So what do you suggest we do about it?"

Yamaki sighed. "We need to get Michi out while we still can. Especially with the possibility that she needs medical attention."

"But then D-Reaper wouldn't survive."

"At this point, don't you think saving her would be more important? You can try again later; they're locked out, remember?"

"I will do no such thing," Yasuo replied as he set, almost pounded a hand onto Yamaki's desk. "I will not let the well-being of some rabble-rousing dissident get in the way of the task at hand. This world needs to be eradicated, and there's no sense quitting now and starting over."

"My point is that D-Reaper may be collapsing on itself before it does its job. If that's the case, then shouldn't we-"

"Is there still a chance that it will take the system down with it?"

"I suppose, but-"

"Then we will let it run its course. No sense giving up over someone like her."

Yamaki sighed, but did not answer. Somehow, he knew he would get a response like that.

"Is there anything else we can do to keep it going?" Yasuo asked as he perused the monitor once more.

"No," Yamaki muttered, "It's not up to us any more."

Yasuo turned to Yamaki. "Then there's no sense keeping you around here, then. Come back tomorrow to assess whatever is left of the situation."

Yamaki didn't bother looking up at Yasuo. He merely sighed, nodded, and stood up. "Yes, sir," he mumbled, grabbing his jacket and calmly leaving the room.

At this point, Yamaki was so unnerved by the situation that stepping away from it wasn't the worst punishment in the world. He felt bad enough about inserting Michi in the first place, but the notion that they were abandoning her inside D-Reaper, in spite of whatever condition she was in, only made it worse. He also couldn't help but feel a great deal of remorse for leaving Riley trapped in that world.

Strong as these feelings were, Yamaki had no desire to act on them. He had just protested Yasuo's decisions about as long as one feasibly could. For that, he was getting off easy to be told to walk away from the mess and let the events of the MAXIS sort themselves out. In fact, as the elevator landed and he walked through the tower's lobby, Yamaki wasn't even sure if he would come back the next day as instructed.

"Hey, Yamaki! Where you off to?" a young, but familiar voice called out to him. Ryo Akiyama was leaning against a wall, hands resting in his jacket pockets and idling the time away.

Yamaki looked around carefully, never discounting the improbable notion that this was some sort of trap, and approached Ryo. "Ryo? Are you looking for your dad?"

Ryo shook his head. "I'm not. Just hanging around. Something big's going down today. Something I have to see for myself."

"What do you mean? Do you know what your father's been up to?"

"For the most part." Ryo flashed a grin. "The real kicker's coming up though."

"Why? Does it have something to do with the other world?"

"Seems that way. I don't know the exact details. All I know is that whatever it is, I need to be around when it happens." After glancing at the entrance doors, Ryo turned to Yamaki. "You might want to be here too."

"Why? Does it concern me?"

"Maybe. It's worth watching either way. It'll be fun, trust me."

Yamaki sighed, found a chair nearby and sat down. "What the hell, my afternoon just got freed up. So what have you been up to, Ryo?"

"Nothing," Ryo deadpanned, "Say, Dad wouldn't happen to have some girl named Michi Grant up there, would he?"

"I don't know if I'm supposed to tell you."

"In an hour or two, it won't matter anyway. How's D-Reaper doing?"

"I don't know if I can tell you that either."

Ryo smiled broadly. "Nice talking to you too."

* * *

Appropriate was not the way anyone present would have described the sight of Matt and Sora leading their Mega-level Digimon into battle, but he and his wife both felt entitled to take the lead at this point. With only a firm nod shared between them, the two rode atop MetalGarurumon and Hououmon for one last-ditch effort to save their daughter.

Matt felt no pride as a father in riding to Michi's rescue; the only reassurance he felt came from the two other Digimon flanking the pair. It was only natural that Matt and Sora would step up, but the two companions were almost miraculous. Joe rode atop Plesiomon, who had somehow regained most of his strength from the vicious attack by Pendulum Feet the day before. He may not have been completely healthy, but he was in his Mega form and that was encouraging enough.

On the other side, after everything Kari had gone through, her true Digimon partner was ready and willing to go forth. Among her many options, Nefertimon rode alongside the three M-Levels. She was by far a more reliable transport for Takato and Veemon than Angewomon. Takato insisted on being part of the rescue effort; as he was the only one whom Michi would recognize immediately, nobody protested.

The four Digimon flew as high as they could, to prolong any combat until they reached the summit. D-Reaper, already reeling from the overload of pain, was unable to process the tactic and send an early wave of agents to meet them. As they approached the summit and started to descend, they saw the mass gathering of agents overhead, eager for one last infliction. An Optimizer bulged out of the chaos and unleashed five or six Bubbles upon the Digimon before melting back in. Hououmon dispatched them easily.

Matt gave instructions to MetalGarurumon, whose booming voice was better suited to relaying them to the others: "Hououmon and I will go in first and secure the area. Plesiomon- help us if necessary, otherwise support Nefertimon. Once the area is secure, Takato will ride in to get Michi. Understand?"

"Yes," came the unified response.

As Matt and Sora's Digimon descended towards the battlezone, two Horn Strikers emerged to greet them. Rather than letting them occupy both Digimon, MetalGarurumon launched missiles at both, allowing him to draw their fire while Hououmon advanced on. The two agents not only absorbed the damage, but their combined strength proved formidable, even for the M-Level.

MetalGarurumon engaged them single-handedly, however, happy to let Hououmon move forward and Plesiomon conserve energy. Unfortunately, the Horn Strikers were able to get into close range, putting MetalGarurumon at a disadvantage. Little damage was done on either side, but the Horn Strikers were able to physically restrain the Digimon. Matt soon saw why as a Creep Hands shot out from below, directly at Hououmon.

"Crimson Flame!" Hououmon shouted, recognizing the sneak attack and vaporizing the Creep Hands immediately.

It was not as fortunate against the Michi-Type agent that sprang out of the chaos and pounded Hououmon into the side of the tower. Unlike her first appearances, Michi-Type looked absolutely feral, uncontrollably wailing on Hououmon through bouts of labored breathing. Sora managed to find safe ground where she could clutch her Digimon without risking injury to herself, and Hououmon managed to deliver the occasional shot on the foe, but the agent clearly held the upper hand.

"Metal Wolf Claw!" MetalGarurumon finally landed a meaningful hit on one of the Horn Strikers, knocking it away. He turned to the other, but it wasn't necessary.

"Water Tail Blaster!" Plesiomon's attack from above distracted the second Horn Striker, allowing MetalGarurumon to finish the first. Matt let Joe deal with the second and charged after the first agent.

"Giga Missile!" The first step was getting it away from Sora. The blast connected as Michi-Type fell back with a deafening howl.

"Starlight Explosion!" Hououmon was right there to launch another attack on it.

Now seething, Michi-Type charged after Hououmon again, but MetalGarurumon interposed himself and slashed at it with one of its claws.

"Are you okay, Sora?" Matt shouted.

"I don't think I can stay up any longer," Hououmon replied between staggered breaths.

"Find a safe place and take a breather then. There's no safety net if you devolve here."

As Hououmon made her escape, the Michi-Type struck again, this time landing a more damaging blow. MetalGarurumon howled and swiped at her in retaliation. Matt clutched his partner as the two exchanged blows. Neither appeared to take damage, but Matt could sense otherwise- MetalGarurumon was losing energy, and couldn't sustain much more damage in his Mega form.

"Give it everything- go!" Matt instructed.

"Ice Wolf Bite!" This was MetalGarurumon's fireworks display- every missile fired at once. Several of them must have connected, but Matt could not see through the volumes of smoke that billowed from the resulting explosions. He took a moment to make sure Sora and Hououmon were indeed flying away, then looked back.

He saw a crazed and scarred Michi-Type ten feet in front of him, screaming as she lashed one of her grotesque arms at him. He saw her face, saw Michi's face- the insane, desperate face of his daughter scrambling to give whatever energy she had left into destroying anything in her path. Matt froze for just a moment, but it was enough time for the agent's arm to slap him off of MetalGarurumon.

By the time Matt got his bearings back, he was already plummeting. He gasped as he saw MetalGarurumon continue to engage the agent, unable to make the rescue. Matt was unable to look down, not that he wanted to know what was under him. He could only look to his side, but just for a moment, he saw the kernal sphere. Just for a moment, he caught a faint glimpse of Michi.

She was curled up, clutching her side and wincing. The image was there for just a brief moment; Matt fell helplessly past her.

The sight of his daughter in clear pain was the only thing on his mind. All for the better as it distracted him from the reality that he was falling to his death. He landed on something soft, but did not bother to ponder his mortality or even if he was still alive. All he saw was Michi.

"Matt!" Joe's shout woke him up. His mind may have drifted elsewhere, but he found that his body had instinctively clutched onto Plesiomon the moment he had landed on it.

"Head back up. Let's go for Michi while we can," Matt ordered. Plesiomon flew up at the Kernal Sphere.

The first agent, still fighting off MetalGarurumon, saw this, and flew down to defend its most valuable asset.

"Shoot, it spotted us," Joe said.

Finally collecting himself and remembering the original plan, Matt gave a new order, "Turn away and fly to one of the rooftops. Let's draw it away from here so Takato can get her."

Joe nodded and Plesiomon obeyed. Sure enough, the agent flew after it, her fist extended the whole way. Plesiomon had no trouble staying ahead of it until it reached the roof of a nearby skyscraper. It flew around, pausing to let Joe and Matt disembark. Then, as the Michi-Type approached, Plesiomon charged after it.

"Shaking Pulse!" The attack met Michi-Type's fists head-on. Another horrible scream; Matt covered his ears and fell to his knees. When the attack concluded, Michi-Type still stood, her arms still extended, her face still insane and her scream still horrifying.

"Crimson Flame!" Hououmon put her out of her misery; Michi-Type did not see the attack from the side, which engulfed both the agent and her cord in flames. With one last scream, the agent dissolved into chaos and fell to the street.

Matt ran up and hugged Sora as she leaped off Hououmon. After all the images and sounds of his tortured daughter, he didn't want to leave her embrace. The two Digimon present, however, forced the issue when they began to glow and devolve.

"Sora..." Hououmon moaned as she found herself reverting to Biyomon. Gomamon also emerged where Plesiomon had once been.

"Looks like that was all he had," Joe said.

"You did wonderful, B," Sora added.

Matt looked up at MetalGarurumon. He was still airborne, but evading attacks from all comers- multiple weaker agents had emerged from the chaos to keep him away from Michi. They couldn't damage him any more than Michi-Type and the Horn Strikers had, but they distracted him well enough.

Sora clutched Matt; she saw the same thing. He wrapped an arm around her and looked skyward. Above the towers, Nefertimon was making her descent. With virtually every strong Digimon out of energy, this was truly the last chance to save Michi. Takato was her only hope.

* * *

The taxi reached its destination just as Yolei's watch beeped four o'clock. She looked up at the towering city hall building, took a deep breath, and turned to her companions in the back seat.

"Ready?" she asked.

Mimi and Michael nodded.

As soon as they exited the cab, all three looked around to see if anybody had already arrived. A difficult task as the plaza was fairly crowded- just another March afternoon in downtown Shinjuku for everyone else.

"How are we supposed to find them?" asked Mimi.

"Walk around and look. Try to blend in," Michael replied, a slightly rushed edge in his voice.

"Nervous?"

"With all of us getting together like this, especially here... why shouldn't I be?"

Yolei did her best to reassure him. "Let's just lay low, hope we spot them, and pray Yasuo's goons aren't out here."

A tap on his shoulder startled Michael. "Too late- already found you."

Michael narrowed his eyebrows. "That's not funny, Davis."

Davis smiled and greeted Mimi and Yolei. Yolei nodded back, but was more interested in the tall Caucasian man clutching a briefcase.

"Who's your friend?" she asked.

The stranger answered, "I'm with the American embassy. Mr. Ichijouji said he would meet us here, but he didn't say there would be an entourage."

"We just want our daughter back," Michael replied.

"I suppose you're the parents of Michi Grant?" the embassy official asked Michael.

Mimi nodded. "Legal guardians, yes. Her parents are... um..."

"Deceased," Michael answered for his wife, shooting her an unhappy look.

Davis and Yolei rolled their eyes, but both knew better than to bring the subject up.

The official nodded, but spoke straight to the point. "Keep in mind that I am not here regarding the girl. Mr. Ichijouji is still investigating her whereabouts. Today is about Riley Kamiya."

As he started walking toward the tower, the four Chosen trailed behind.

"You didn't say Riley's involved with this. Why would she be up there?" Michael asked Yolei.

Yolei grinned. "It involves Digimon, computers, and getting back at Yasuo. Why wouldn't she be?"

"I'll have you know I'm scared to death of that woman."

"Why's that?"

"She could control Tai. Not a force to be messed with."

"Michael has a point. Why would she need the embassy for help?" Mimi asked.

Yolei's smile grew. "What do you think Ken's been doing all day?"

The four followed the official inside. As soon as they reached the lobby, Michael froze.

"Oh, God," he muttered, looking around nervously.

"What is it?" Mimi asked.

"That young man over there." Michael tilted his head in the general direction. "That looks like Ryo Akiyama. I remember that grin."

Mimi and Yolei glanced at him, just long enough to accidentally make eye contact. Ryo's face lit up and he approached them. The tall blond seated next to him followed.

Michael tried not to wince as Ryo nodded at the ladies. "Well, everybody's here... except Ken. Where is he?"

Yolei narrowed her eyebrows. "Ken let you in on all this?"

"Who are you?" Mimi asked. She stared at him, shaking her head at the lack of recognition.

"Ryo Akiyama," Michael answered, "Formerly Yasuo's older brother. Now the world's only known Digiworld Hybrid."

Yolei's eyes lit up. "Oh... I've heard about you! You were quite a pain in the ass back in the day!"

"He's also probably the reason Yasuo hates Digimon so much," Michael added.

Ryo took a step back, then threw his hands up.

"Well, I didn't realize you guys knew as much about me as I do about you. It's like I'm already part of the family!"

Everybody glared at him.

Yolei broke the uneasy silence by changing the subject. "How much did Ken tell you?"

"Just that I should be here this afternoon in case he needed my help."

"Why should we trust you? You're related to Yasuo," Mimi said.

"I'm also a former Chosen, just like you guys. That means I belong here."

Michael shook his head. Then he turned to Yamaki. "Who's this?"

"This is Yamaki. He's here to help too."

"Helping with what?" Yamaki asked, "You didn't say anything about-"

Ryo nudged him, not listening. "Depending on what's going on up there, you may need him."

Before Yamaki could protest, Ken ran in. Without so much as a glance at anyone else, he and the embassy official marched towards the elevators.

"What's with the posse?" the official asked Ken.

"They're helping me with my end," Ken answered, "I didn't want any other officials. We're going for low profile."

"Yes we are. Why are Michi's parents here?"

An elevator arrived. All eight of them squeezed in together.

"Rest assured that I'm not out to reunite Michi with her parents," Ken answered, "That's what I'd like to prevent."

"With all due respect, why aren't you looking for her?" Michael asked.

"We still can't confirm where she is," Ken replied.

"And that means we do not implicate Mr. Akiyama. I'm nervous enough as it is about implicating him on the things we _can_ confirm," the embassy official added.

Upon exiting the elevator, the delegation found Yasuo's main office. Ken instructed everybody but the official to wait outside. The embassy official rapped on Yasuo's door and retrieved a folder from his briefcase as Mr. Akiyama answered it.

"Who are you?" Yasuo asked, unamused as always.

"I'm with the American Embassy here in Tokyo. One of our citizens is in eminent danger and I need to, I guess you could say, commandeer your computer to help her."

Yasuo narrowed his eyes. "Who's in danger now?"

"A woman by the name of Riley Kamiya. We have learned that she is in a MAXIS system and this is the only remaining access point to it."

Yasuo cracked a faint grin. "That woman entered on her own accord. If anything, she's trespassing on our system."

"Um... unfortunately, that's not technically applicable. While you do hold jurisdiction over the system, that jurisdiction came with a right of passage clause that allows anyone with access to the system permission to enter it."

Yasuo sighed impatiently. "She should not have access to the system. We believe she hacked in."

"Well, then that's a gray area."

With derision, Yasuo replied, "The whole thing's a gray area. There's no precedent for any of this."

The official nodded in acknowledgment. "Yes, but we have to intervene regardless. File a complaint against her if you want, but we tend to err on the side of not getting our citizens killed."

"And if I refuse to cooperate? Do you have an injunction?"

"Yes," the official answered, "If you take issue with it, then we will have to go to the embassy to sort this matter out. We can call up some lawyers and get an initial ruling."

Yasuo glared at him for a while. Finally, he raised an eyebrow and said, "Fine. Let's go."

He grabbed a jacket and followed the official out. On the way to the elevator, he saw Ken, watching them without trying to draw attention to himself.

"Ken? What on Earth are you doing here?" Yasuo asked, immediately suspicious.

Ken bowed. "I've finished my investigation, sir. I'll have the full report for you on Monday."

Yasuo narrowed his eyebrows. "For your sake, I certainly hope you weren't involved with this injunction."

With a sigh, Ken didn't answer. Instead, he said, "I made some very interesting discoveries. You were certainly right about Koji- definitely one to keep an eye on."

Then Ken smiled. Before Yasuo could fume properly, the elevator had arrived and the official led him aboard.

"All clear," Ken said as the others came out of hiding.

"Good call keeping us out of that," Ryo said, "If he knew I was here, he'd kill me."

"He's going to kill all of us, but that's not the point. Let's find Michi."

"I thought you said this was about Riley," Michael said.

Ken smiled again. "That was just to get that injunction through. I don't give a damn about her; I just want to get Michi back."

"Wait... so you just convinced a national embassy to take down Yasuo just so we could get Michi out of here?" Yolei said, walking up to her husband.

Michael shook his head. "Are you kidding? Something like this won't take down Yasuo. He'll be back up here in no time."

"Michael's right," Ken replied, "Whatever Yasuo's up to, his lawyers will keep him out of trouble. If anything, it's the embassy that's stepping over the line. This may end up becoming an international incident and I'm pretty sure I just ruined my career... but in the end, it's nothing more than an diversion."

Out of nowhere, Yamaki stepped forward. "In that case, come with me. I know where he's keeping her."

Yamaki led the group up to the computer, explaining the situation to them along the way. Obviously, Mimi and Yolei were hardly pleased to hear about Michi's condition, but their anger was all the more motivation for Yamaki to help. Unfortunately, after pouring through lines of code and data, he came to a problematic conclusion.

"Damn, she's been in there too long. Someone's going to have to go in and get her."

"Us pulling her out of D-Reaper? That's impossible!" Ryo exclaimed.

"Not if we start breaking down D-Reaper first."

Ryo chuckled and turned to the Chosen. "Okay, who here can spin around the fastest?"

Yamaki smiled. "Thankfully, I had the old Juggernaut program written into D-Reaper for emergency purposes like these. Once activated, it will suck D-Reaper out of the MAXIS and load it onto a different system."

"And then we can just go into the computer and get Michi?" Yolei asked.

Shaking his head, Yamaki answered, "It's not that simple. With Michi embedded like that, if D-Reaper is flushed out of the world, Michi goes with it. And a human wouldn't survive where I'm taking it."

"So we have to get Michi out before D-Reaper's flushed," Davis surmised, "How do we do that?"

Ken let out a laugh. "Looks like we're saving Riley after all, huh?"

Yamaki nodded. "Whatever she's doing, it's been keeping D-Reaper at bay. If it weren't for her, that world would be gone by now. I'm sure she'll help you get Michi."

"You sure about that?" Ryo said, "There aren't any Digimon in that world anymore."

"She's getting it done somehow."

"But if you're wrong about her, Michi's a goner," Yolei said.

Mimi stepped forward and looked Yamaki in the eyes. "Is this our best shot?"

"It may be your only shot," he answered.

Mimi looked at Yolei. "I'm her mother. I say we do it." She turned back to Yamaki and said, "Where do we go to get beamed up?"

Yamaki pointed out the location. Mimi grabbed Ken's arm. "C'mon, Ken," she said, leading him to the spot.

"Well, I'm going too, I need to see what this place is like," Yolei added.

Davis joined her. "No way you're leaving me out of this one."

"And since I've been there before, you'd better have someone show you around," Ryo said as he strolled over.

"Wait a minute, somebody has to stay here!" Michael protested, "We don't know how much we can trust this man. Besides, what if Yasuo comes back?"

"Thanks for volunteering, dear!" Mimi shouted.

"They'll be fine, Mr. Grant," Yamaki said as he began the instructions. "The entry site is already set outside D-Reaper's zone of influence. I'll contact Riley and let her know you're coming."

"How long will we have to get Michi?" Ken asked.

"I'll execute the command once I've confirmed your arrival. I don't know the exact time, but I'd estimate less than an hour before D-Reaper is completely downloaded."

Mimi and Ken nodded. Yamaki entered the final commands, but stopped before opening the gate. Glancing at Ryo briefly, he opened a desk drawer and started rooting around.

"What's wrong?" Michael asked.

No answer. Instead, Yamaki pulled out a foreign-looking digivice- Takato's D-Power.

Michael's eyes widened. "A digivice? Impossible..."

Yamaki walked up and handed it to Ken. "I think Takato can make better use of this than Yasuo."

Ken nodded without saying a word. Yamaki returned to the computer and executed the command.

"Digi-port open," Davis muttered as the five entered the MAXIS.

* * *

Yamaki did not change the entry point; they arrived in the same department store that Tally and Mari had appeared in. After the initial disorientation and Yolei momentarily freaking out, they felt their way out of the building and onto the street.

As they remarked on the eerily silent streets, Ryo smiled. "Feels like I'm back home."

"Is... is this normal here?" Yolei shrieked and pointed at a nearby sidewalk. The concrete was stained red and the surrounding buildings all carried their share of collateral damage.

Ken walked up to the crimson pavement. "Blood spatter," he muttered, "Somebody fell."

A new voice added, "Yes, it was very tragic." The five saw Renamon standing beside them suddenly.

"Renamon?!" Yolei and Ryo both exclaimed.

"Yes. Sorry to startle you." Renamon bowed and looked at the group. "Mr. Yamaki informed us that you were coming."

"Do you know what happened here?" Ken said, pointing at the spatter.

"I can explain later. For now, we must head to safety."

Before they could, Rika sprinted towards them. Once she saw that there was no impending danger, she slowed to a jog and stopped besides Renamon. The five newcomers stared at her as she stopped to catch her breath.

She turned to Renamon angrily, "Don't ditch me like that!"

"Sorry," Renamon replied, turning away.

"We were about to leave anyway," Davis said. He glanced at the blood. "Whatever happened here, we don't want it happening to us."

Rika took a long look at him. Then Ken. Then Mimi. Then Yolei. Then Ryo. Ryo smiled back.

"Davis, Ken, Mimi and Yolei?" she muttered.

"That's us," Mimi replied.

Rika sighed and turned around. "Let's go."

The group started back for headquarters together. Ryo jogged up to Rika.

"You, uh... don't seem so shocked that I showed up here with four digi-destined," he said.

Rika stopped and glared at him. "You know, I always told myself that if I ever saw you again, the first thing I would do was punch you in the face."

"Yeah?" Ryo said, smiling.

She punched him in the face.

The Chosen stopped, but didn't really react. Ryo rubbed the cheekbone her fist impacted and checked for any traces of blood. There were none.

He shook his head. "Takato did worse," he said. The group started walking again.

"I see you found Renamon," Ryo said, changing the subject.

"It's not my Renamon. We don't know where our Digimon are." She glanced at him. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you, Ryo?"

Ryo froze for a moment. Before he could say anything, they heard a loud crackling from above. The clouds overhead started swirling in a new direction and they felt the wind change.

"What was that?" Rika asked.

"Yamaki," Ken replied, "The clock starts now."

He broke into a run, as Davis, Yolei and Mimi followed suit. Renamon showed them the way. Rika tried to run, but was too tired to go any faster.

"They're going to be in for a hell of a surprise," Rika muttered to Ryo.

* * *

The news that Yamaki was pulling D-Reaper out was great, although nobody was able to get it to Takato. As MetalGarurumon expended the last of his energy to fend off the agents, Nefertimon managed to get close enough for Takato to reach the Kernal Sphere. The exposed portion of the sphere had grown immensely, allowing for a small landing pad for Nefertimon. Takato and Veemon disembarked just as Yamaki entered the command to retract D-Reaper.

In an instant, the sphere began to rotate, disorienting Veemon and Nefertimon. Veemon recovered just in time to see Takato lose his balance and fall off the edge.

"Takato!!" Veemon leaped forward and grabbed Takato's arm just in time.

Breathless, Takato looked down at the swirling world below him; the sphere was rotating faster. "Thanks, buddy," he said between gasps, "Think you can get me up?"

"No problem!" Veemon tugged, but Takato was far too heavy. "Nefertimon?"

Nefertimon had little room to maneuver and was unable to see the situation. Even if she could, she didn't have arms. "If I fly off and catch him, I won't be able to get back on."

"So what do I do?!"

"Vee!" Takato shouted. The rotation was getting even faster and Veemon was starting to lose his grip.

Veemon clenched his teeth and shouted, "Hang on, Takato!"

* * *

The laptop stationed outside offered a view of the trouble Takato was in. Unfortunately, no one was watching it. Instead, the remainder of the group was waiting for the surprise visitors. The four came running into view. As soon as Davis, Ken, Yolei and Mimi saw who was greeting them, they came to a quick halt. Their mouths fell open and tried to form words, but none emerged. None could describe who they were seeing.

Perhaps it would have been more fitting with Matt, Sora or Joe present. Perhaps it would have been less awkward if Cody had been in his adult form and could recognize his fellow Chosen. Neither thought struck Davis, whose mouth curled into a smile as he became the first to break free from the shock and run to them. On the other side, Kari was the first to receive them, running forward as fast as her legs would allow before they gave way and she fell into Davis's outstretched arms.

Yolei, Mimi and Ken were quick to follow, embracing Kari along with TK and Izzy. Cody was hesitant, but Yolei ushered him in as well. Nobody asked of his age or Kari's injuries, and nobody questioned how it had happened. There was only the flow of joy as the Chosen released all the fears that they would never be reunited.

Watching from aside with the remaining Tamers and Mari, Riley felt a slight teardrop, but brushed it away. The reunion wouldn't be complete without the other three, but that would happen in due time. She walked back to the laptop, determined to make sure the mission was completed successfully before any celebration had begun.

Instead, she saw Takato, Michi's last hope, dangling from a swirling and sinking Kernal Sphere. Her scream interrupted the Chosen.

Izzy, Kari and Davis ran up to her. "What's wrong?" Kari asked.

"Izzy! Get Kabuterimon over there now!" Riley commanded.

"He hasn't completely recovered," he replied.

"Just send him, he's all we've got left!"

With no more questions, Izzy obeyed, instruction his Digimon to fly to the center of the retreating chaos. He turned back to Riley and was about to ask what it was for when he saw Takato.

"Oh my God..." Kari muttered and clutched Davis's arm.

Izzy's jaw dropped. "Riley... Kabuterimon won't make it in time. Maybe if he could go Mega..."

"Who's with him?" Davis asked.

"Nefertimon and Veemon. Nefertimon can't leave her place and Veemon's not strong enough." Riley flipped open her cell phone. "Matt, is MetalGa-"

Matt interrupted over the phone. "He's out too. Isn't there anybody left?!"

Davis leaned in. "Why's Veemon there?"

"He's been acting as Takato's partner," Kari answered.

"Why doesn't he digivolve?"

"I said 'acting,' Davis. It doesn't work the same."

"Takato doesn't have his digivice either," Izzy added.

"Well, hell!" Davis stood and walked up to Ken. "Hey, give me that digivice blondie gave you!"

Ken furrowed his eyebrows, but retrieved it and tossed the D-Power to Davis. "There's not much you can do with it."

As Davis walked back to the computer, Izzy said, "Ken's right. We're more than a mile away from them, that's not your digivice, and Veemon's technically not your partner any-"

"Veemon, digivolve!" Davis commanded as he hoisted the D-Power at the screen.

They watched Veemon begin to glow. Izzy sighed and finished, "...more."

ExVeemon was more than capable of hoisting Takato to safety. Davis smiled and tossed the D-Power back to Ken. Then he noticed the blank stares on Izzy and Riley's faces.

"What?" he said, shrugging.

Kari shook her head. "Oh, we missed you so much."

* * *

On his knees in the Kernal Sphere, Takato caught his breath. "Thanks, buddy."

ExVeemon reverted back to Veemon. "For a second I was afraid that I didn't have it in me anymore."

Takato feigned a smile, which he lost as he saw his knees start to sink into the surface. The Kernal Sphere was starting to dissipate into slime and the far exterior shell began to sublimate. Takato rose to his feet and ran through the slush to the epicenter. He found Michi- barely conscious and curled up, clutching the left side of torso. Her body had sunk more than halfway into the muck.

"Michi?" Takato said. She didn't respond.

He tried again, louder, dropping to his knees beside her. Her clothes were blood-stained and the surface below her was a darker shade of red.

He placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her gently. "Michi, c'mon."

Michi's eyes opened slightly. He said her name again; her eyes opened more.

"K... Koji?" she mumbled.

Takato reeled back for a moment. Once again, his false identity was thrown in his face. He shook it off and nodded. "Yeah. I'm getting you out of here."

Careful not to disrupt her wound, he picked her up. "What are you doing here?" she moaned.

Takato had too much of a burden already to answer. She felt heavy in his arms, the slime made it hard for him to walk, and the dizzying spin and slow contraction of the sphere was disorienting. By the time he reached Nefertimon, his strength was drained and his clothes were as stained as Michi's.

"Get her on, quickly," Nefertimon said, bending lower to help Takato hoist Michi on Nefertimon's back. He caught a glimpse of her wound- a gaping gash on her left side that scraped off much of the skin. She had clearly lost a lot of blood already, but had Kodomon's attack been slightly more to the left, it would have impaled her completely.

Takato jumped on in front of Michi. "Keep her steady, Veemon. We need to find Joe and the others right away." Michi wrapped her free arm around Takato's waist and clutched his jacket. Her head fell on his shoulder as she leaned in.

"Go!" Takato commanded. Nefertimon took off from the spinning sphere.

They found Matt, Sora and Joe on a nearby rooftop and flew in their direction. Takato felt Michi's grip loosening. He grabbed her hand and held it.

"You're going to be okay," he told her.

Biyomon flew into Nefertimon's path. "How badly is she hurt?"

"Badly enough. Where should we land?"

"On the street. There's an ambulance coming."

Nefertimon nodded and descended.

"Koji," Michi moaned. Takato clutched her hand tighter. "Was this my purpose?"

He tensed up. It was barely more audible than her increasingly staggered breathing. Takato was still surprised. He wanted to say something encouraging, that she would get past this and move on to happier things. But he couldn't deny the fact that this experience had changed her life forever.

"No," was all he could say, "No, it isn't."

Before he could say more, Michi managed a faint smile.

"Good," she said. Her eyes closed and her arm started to fall limp.

"Hang on, Michi!" Veemon shouted from the back, tightening his grip on her.

Nefertimon landed. As soon as Takato helped her off and laid her down, he realized she was unconscious.

"Michi?" he cried, "Michi?! Come on, wake up!" His voice grew louder and more urgent. Already on his knees, he cradled her head. Takato held it against his chest as tears started to fall into her hair.

He didn't look up until he heard the ambulance siren. Help was on the way, and Michi's parents were exiting a nearby building with Joe.

"Oh God, Michi!" Sora cried as she neared.

Joe grabbed her shoulder. "Hold on, Sora, let's get her on board first. It looks pretty bad."

As Joe looked over Michi, he instructed Takato how to let her go carefully. Takato did, and stood back as Joe and the rescue workers did their thing. Matt and Sora embraced, not watching the proceedings.

As they loaded Michi into the ambulance, her parents, tears in their eyes, joined her. Before shutting the door, Joe turned to Takato.

"Are you coming?" he asked.

Takato looked down at his jacket. The blue fabric had now soaked purple. He turned back to Joe. "No thanks," he replied.

The ambulance sped away, and Takato was left at the beginning.

* * *

Back at base, as Riley typed on her laptop and Yolei and Davis shared pictures of the grandchildren, TK stood at full attention and watched D-Reaper subside. Mimi walked up to him, also watching the shrinking mountain of red give back whatever it had engulfed of the city.

"Whatever's going on, it looks good," she said, "Sorry to hear about Tally."

TK nodded and replied, "I just want this to be over with."

"It's over," Riley announced, setting the computer aside. "Michi's out and D-Reaper's beyond the point where it can threaten us. We're done." There was little excitement in her voice.

Izzy started to clap. "Good job, everybody," he said. He walked around, patting Kari and Cody on the shoulder and giving TK a quick hug. He received a more enthusiastic response from some of the Tamers, including a high-five from Kazu. When he reached Jeri, he hesitated at first, but eventually leaned in and gave her a hug.

"Good work... Jeri," he said.

Jeri smiled. "Thanks, D... Mr. Izumi."

Henry and Rika made their rounds and thanked the participating Chosen, reserving special gratitude for Riley. The whole celebration was rather subdued, however, as Michi's survival was still in doubt and, while no longer a threat, D-Reaper would still be out there for a little longer. Riley did little to acknowledge any praise in her direction. She was tired, and all she wanted was peace and some time to unwind.

She got neither as Takato approached them, accompanied by Veemon and Salamon. Veemon's eyes lit up as he saw his old partner.

"Davis!" he shouted, running to him. Davis smiled as Veemon leaped into his arms.

"Good to see you, old buddy. Looks like you saved the day again," Davis said.

"Yep, sure did!" Veemon narrowed his eyes as he looked at his partner for the first time in twelve years. "Wow, Davis, you got old."

As Salamon joined Kari, Takato stopped. He didn't look up from the ground. Finally, Jeri walked up to him. She tried to hug him, but he shook her off.

Jeri bit her lip, then saw his blood-soaked jacket. "Takato, your jacket! Are you-"

"It's not my blood," he mumbled, still looking down, "It's Michi's."

"Is she going to be all right?"

Finally, Takato looked up. He looked Jeri in the eyes and asked the only question on his mind: "Does it matter?"

Without waiting for an answer, he walked away, his eyes cast downward again. Nobody moved.

A tear rolled down Jeri's face as he left. "Yes, it matters," she declared, more for herself than anyone else.

Determined to change the mood, Ken turned to Riley. "So what happens now?"

Izzy's mouth broke into an exasperated smile. "Now? Now Kazu's going to round up some sake because we all need to take a minute and decompress."

He glanced at Kazu, who nodded and smiled. "Sure thing!"

As Kazu headed out, he noticed Jeri still staring at where Takato had left. Kazu walked up to her and put an arm around her shoulder.

"C'mon, Jeri, you're with me on this one," he said with a big smile.

"What?" she replied, a bit bewildered.

Kazu pointed at the surrounding streets, where bars, restaurants, and hopefully alcohol-dispensing vending machines waited. "The digi-destined demand booze! This is where we shine."

Jeri broke into a smile. She nodded and answered, "Right, let's go."

Ken watched them leave, then cleared his throat and turned to Riley. "What I meant was when can we leave? We left Michael and Yamaki in a very bad position if Yasuo comes back before we do."

"I've been working on that," Riley replied, "Thankfully, Yamaki's more susceptible than he looks. Especially around me."

"How long before Yasuo gets back to the office?" Yolei asked.

Ken answered, "By the time they get to the embassy and summon all the lawyers, it should buy us a couple hours. But we can't leave them hanging that long."

"We'll be out by then," Riley said, "Besides, even if Yasuo did beat us there, I already talked with Yamaki. Apparently, he wasn't so fond of putting Michi inside, and having Michi's stepfather in the room gives him some leverage."

Ken scratched his chin. "That's true. With Michi in here, there's no arguing that injunction now."

After listening carefully, Henry stepped forward. "That's great for you guys, but where does that leave us? Is he just going to try to delete us again in a few years?"

Rika followed. "Not only that, but where exactly is D-Reaper going if you're not sending it to the Digital World?"

Riley stared at Rika for a moment, then walked up to the laptop and started typing. "Good question... let's find out." After a few moments, she got her response. "He's putting it on an external flash drive. With any luck, I can talk him into accidentally destroying it."

Shaking his head, Henry persisted. "Look, I don't want to live with the fear of that thing coming back. Whoever this Yasuo is, he doesn't sound like the type who gives up that easily."

"True," Riley said, turning to Ken, "That's why it's up to you four to keep fighting for this place."

Ken and Yolei looked at each other for a moment. Then Yolei walked up to Riley, narrowing her eyes. "What do you mean it's up to us? When did this world concern us so much?" She shook her head. "No offense, but unlike you we can't spend all of our time worrying about some world inside a computer. Don't forget- we came here for Michi. That's it."

Before Riley could offer a rebuttal, Ken joined his wife. He was equally stern. "She's right. We all really stuck our necks out to get here, and Yasuo is going to try to ring them somehow. Maybe the Americans will catch him on something and slap him on the wrist, but it won't stop him. We have families, Riley, and we can't continue to put them at risk for a world that we have no real reason to fight for."

As Ken and Yolei argued, Henry glared at them from the distance. Finally, he glowered and walked away, shaking his head. Equally disgusted, Rika followed him. Again, nobody moved.

"Wow..." Veemon said, surprised at the remarks, "Guess you guys never met Takato, huh?" Davis laughed and patted Veemon on the head.

"Okay, uh, you know this may be a bad time to bring it up..." Mimi started, then pointed at Davis and Veemon, "But that's been bothering me for awhile. If Veemon's here... is there any way you can get Palmon?" She flashed a cute smile at Izzy.

Izzy hesitated before answering, "Uh... well, no, there's a firewall restricting access to the Digital World. We put it up so D-Reaper wouldn't get through."

"But D-Reaper's going to be gone in twenty minutes. You'll take it down, right?"

With a nod, Izzy replied, "Yes. Besides the Digimon, we'll have to go back too. Right, Riley?"

"Yes," Riley answered, "Unfortunately, since you came from the Digital World, the MAXIS recognizes you as beings from this world. Which means you still can't go back to the real world."

Mimi continued, "So you can do it, right?"

"We could, but Ken's right. We need to leave as soon as D-Reaper is gone to prevent a run-in with Yasuo."

"Oh." Mimi slumped her shoulders.

"The portal, presumably, will remain open, however." Mari, who had been practically invisible this whole time, joined in suddenly and commanded everyone's attention. "And since Riley now knows the secret to accessing the world, particularly with Yamaki back on our side, you can always return."

Everybody stared at Mari. Then Mimi turned to Riley, who nodded. "That's true."

"So I can see Palmon then?" Mimi asked, eager.

"Sure." A thought struck Riley, and she smiled. "In fact, bring along Kori. No matter what happens with Michi, I'm sure Matt and Sora would love to see him."

This got Kari's attention. She slowly walked up to the group. Ken and Yolei looked at each other, their eyes growing wider.

Mari looked up at them. "You said something about a reason to fight for this place?"

* * *

After everything, Takato was back at the park. After everything, he was alone.

Even though he had made the trip several times before, the uphill path to the old, familiar structure felt more cumbersome this time. Exhaustion from his adventure started to make its presence felt as his legs seemed ready to buckle. He fought back tears; with every sniff his caught the strong smell of Michi's blood on his jacket. After four years, that stench was all Takato had with him.

When he reached the shed, the gate was unlocked and swinging open. He walked through it and entered. Perhaps somehow, despite all that Takato had discovered, he would be there.

Takato stood there in silence for a moment. He closed his eyes and pictured that someone was there waiting, only a little confused that it took so long. Takato opened them again- nothing.

He stepped forward to see the gateway to the Digital World. As promised, the firewall was up and active, literally a flaming barricade obstructing the bottom of the hole. Whether he was contemplating it or not, he wasn't going through this time.

With a sigh, he gave up and walked out. He was back here, with no path to the Digital World and no path to the real world. After all of Takato's fighting to stand up for it and claim it as his, in the end it was not much of a prize. His world was some intermediate place that was not exactly real and not exactly digital. He wasn't sure if he was any better-equipped to live here than he was when he had left four years ago. Even if he was, it was at the expense of so many people: undue stress on the Chosen and Riley, the death of Tally, and whatever awful fate awaited Michi.

As he passed the gate, his legs finally gave in and he fell to his knees. Without warning, he burst into tears. He clutched the gate; it offered little support. All he could think about was the purpose of his journey. The few good things he had accomplished were washed away by the trouble he caused and the lives destroyed in the process. In the end, he gained nothing. The naive Takato that tagged along with the digi-destined had grown up and moved out. The free-spirited Koji that was entrusted with a good deed was no more, taking good people down with him. Now, whomever he was, Takato had nothing left.

He heard footsteps approaching. Takato did his best to control his crying and tried to sit up straight. He looked up and saw a tall, middle-aged man, wearing a gray jacket and blue jeans. The man was staring back at Takato in a somewhat troubled manner. Takato looked back down.

"Takato?" the man asked.

"Yeah?" Takato muttered back.

"What's wrong?"

"What have I done?" Takato replied, looking up at him, "What was all this for?"

The man glanced at the receding D-Reaper. "Well... you saved the world."

Takato shook his head. "If it weren't for me, it wouldn't be in trouble to begin with."

"What do you mean?"

"It's because I went to the Digital World. And then I went to the real world. I was wrong to leave. People suffered because of me."

The man sighed. "Maybe, but a lot of good things came out of it."

"Like what?"

"Well, did you see the Chosen down there? All of them together again? Who would have thought we'd ever see that?" the man said with a smile.

Takato wasn't moved. "People died. Tally and Michi? Nothing makes this worth it."

"There was nothing you could have done about Tally. She wanted to be here. She wanted to be with TK. And you don't know about Michi. She might pull through."

"She'll never be the same," Takato replied, shaking his head.

The man cracked a faint smile and sat down next to Takato. "Things change people, Takato. I mean, look at how you've changed through all this."

Takato turned to the man, appalled by his gumption. Raising his voice, Takato said, "How? Finding out that this world is artificial? That I was created for some science experiment that could be wiped out at any time? That my entire purpose in life was filled six years ago and everything from here on out doesn't matter?"

The man tried to reply, but Takato continued, pointing at the shed with his eyes watering. "I went through there for one reason! How do you expect me to be happy with all this? With all the shit I've been through, to come back here empty-handed? It was all a mistake."

"I suppose. Whether you consider it good or bad, you did do a lot of work. In fact, you did everything I asked you to."

"I did," Takato declared, pausing to sniff back a tear, "I did everything. It was a big, ugly circle. And I got nothing out of it."

Shaking his head, the man replied, "I can't argue with that. Maybe it was wrong of me. But it had to be done." He looked back at the shed. "I know it's breaking the rules a bit, but that's nothing new for me."

Takato stared at the man, raising an eyebrow at the shed. The man finished and turned to Takato. "It's only fair."

Scrunching his eyebrows, Takato glanced at the shed. Nothing seemed to have changed, but he stood up. After taking two steps toward the shed, he turned back to the strange man that Takato seemed to have no trouble pouring his heart out to.

"Go on," the man said with a nod. He shrugged and added, "You've earned it."

Takato proceeded cautiously. He wasn't sure what to expect inside the shed, but he didn't want to get his hopes too high. He peeked inside; nothing had changed. The shadowy shed was still empty and cold.

"Hello?" he said meekly.

With no response, he turned around. Why would he expect anything to be there this time? He wasn't sure if the man was even real, let alone capable of miracles. Takato thought he heard a rustling behind him, but that too was probably just his imagination.

As Takato stepped out, a voice called out from behind him: "Takato?"

Takato froze, his breathing became heavier and he felt like he was about to lose control of his body and fall to the ground at any moment. He recognized the voice immediately, but couldn't turn around to face it. He had been so prepared for disappointment that to be let down now would be too much.

Finally, before his legs refused to let him, he forced himself to turn around again. He closed his eyes, picturing it in his head, praying to make it become real. When Takato opened his eyes, despite the impossibility of it, it was.

Guilmon climbed out of the hole.

"Hello, Takato," Guilmon said, "Did you bring bread?"

Takato fell to his knees, too overcome with emotion to move. "Guilmon," he whimpered.

Either completely ignoring or blissfully unaware of the six years since they had parted, Guilmon walked up to Takato and sniffed his face. Takato threw his arms around him, taking in his partner's scaly skin and unusual odor. It was perfect, and now Takato wept for an entirely different reason.

"What took so long?" Guilmon asked casually, as if Takato hadn't been gone more than an hour.

"Sorry, buddy. I got a bit sidetracked."

"So what should we do today?"

Takato looked Guilmon in the eyes. They were as innocent and playful as ever. Takato was going to abandon all responsibility and play with Guilmon as long as he could. Unfortunately, as the thought came over him, reality set back in. Takato frowned.

"Hold on..." Takato stood up and ran out of the shed. Guilmon ran after him.

"Hey!" Takato said, but the man was already walking down the path. "Um... uh..."

Desperate to get the man's attention, Takato yelled out his name: "Tai!"

Tai stopped and turned around, a pleasant smile on his face. "Yeah?"

"How long do I have?" Takato asked, gulping.

"As long as you need. I have one more thing to take care of," Tai replied.

* * *

As the reunited Chosen, still without Matt, Sora and Joe, talked excitedly of the future for this world, enjoying the drinks provided by Jeri and Kazu, Riley left quietly. She went into the office building that had served as headquarters. She pulled up a chair and sat down by the third story window, where she could watch the party from afar. Riley leaned back, her eyes heavy, and reminded herself of all the good this world could serve now.

Never mind that the seven fighting Chosen were all but convinced that they had made a bad decision when times were bleak. Even Ken and Yolei weren't convinced until Mari's covert statement helped turn them around. Riley couldn't help but feel detached from them, since they suddenly had so much to gain from the world, while she had been using the same silly excuse for six years. Great as it was to see the Chosen find a tangible use for the world, they didn't suffer half as much as Riley had, leaving her to wonder if it was really worth it?

Closing her eyes, she felt a pair of hands massaging her shoulders. While she was confident that it was her imagination, it relaxed her. She indulged herself in the fantasy for a moment. Reflexively, she placed a hand on top of the soothing fingers. Her eyes flew open as she felt nothing and the illusion vanished.

The feeling remained, however. She looked closely at the window and saw both her reflection, and her husband's.

"You really need to relax, dear. You're working yourself too hard again," Tai said.

Riley exhaled a tremendous sigh of relief, smiling and closing her eyes. "I knew you were in here. Since the moment I first stepped foot in this world, I just knew that somehow you were here with me."

Tai smiled. "Thank you. You know, I never lost faith in you. I knew you'd come through for me."

"Thanks, but you're wrong," she replied, shaking her head, "I did lose faith. When they initiated D-Reaper again, I didn't think anything could be done. I just wanted to save Takato and give up on you. You should thank Takato for refusing to accept that."

"I already did."

"He's something else, isn't he?"

"Yep. That's why I chose him. It may take him a while to appreciate what he's done, but he'll be happy. No doubt about it."

Riley looked out the window at the Chosen again. "Was this all part of the plan?"

"Wish I could say it was. But I can't control everything. All I can do is make it possible. The rest was up to you guys. And you've all earned this. This is a great reward."

She looked to the sky. The last traces of D-Reaper had left the skyline and the last stream of cloud cover were revealing a glorious blue sky. "It is a beautiful world you have here, Tai."

"Thanks, but it's not mine. It's Takato's." Tai gazed out the window as well. "They made it for him."

"So what now? Do the other Chosen and I just keep fighting Yasuo?"

"Of course. Don't worry about Ken and the others, though. They jumped at the chance to fight for Michi and I'm sure they'll do again. They've suffered as much as Matt and them; I think they're ready to let some of that out."

Riley sighed. This one was not out of relief. "Is Michi going to be all right?"

Tai shook his head. "That's up to her. She's been through a lot, but if she wants to keep going, she'll be able to. But we can't force her."

With a sad nod, Riley replied, "I guess that's fair."

"It's not something for you to worry about. For now, join the party. Catch up with Ken and the others. You're going to be seeing a lot of them in the future."

"Right," she said. She stood up and turned around. Tai was smiling, his hands in his pockets and a loving look in his eyes. He had probably missed her as much as she missed him.

"Will I ever see you again," she asked.

Tai raised his eyebrows. "I'm not going anywhere."

She smiled brightly and headed for the elevator.

* * *

He had taken a four-year journey, and through countless obstacles and sacrifices, Takato's reward was fifteen minutes of wasted time playing with an old friend. Yet he couldn't have been happier. Takato and Guilmon wrestled around, chased each other, and managed a brief staring contest in those precious minutes. He knew their time would be short and every moment counted. Even so, there was no activity more valuable to him.

As usual, Guilmon wore Takato out quickly. Takato was already tired from rescuing Michi, so by the time Tai returned, Takato was exhausted and laid on the grass next to Guilmon.

"All set?" Tai asked, standing over them.

Takato sighed. "I think so." He rolled over on his side and hugged Guilmon again.

"Is time up already?" Guilmon asked.

"I guess so," Takato replied sadly, "I'm gonna miss you, Guilmon."

"I'll miss you too, Takato."

"Goodbye." Takato felt one last tear roll down, but somehow this was so much more bearable than before. He had already recognized that this was borrowed time, a moment he had fought for and finally seized after four years of searching. Takato was careful not to make any promises; he would not get another chance to honor them.

"Thanks, Tai," Takato said.

"No, thank you," Tai replied, "Great place you've got here." He turned to Guilmon. "Come on, Guilmon, let's go."

Guilmon hopped to his feet and joined Tai. Takato watched as the two walked away, side-by-side. Takato smiled; whether they really existed or not, they sure made an impression.

"I'm really hungry, Tai. When are we going to eat?" Guilmon asked.

Tai stopped and raised an eyebrow at Guilmon. He sighed and said, "You don't quite get this, do you?"

Takato chuckled as the pair continued down the path. He may not ever see them again, but they would never be completely gone.

"Hey, Takato! There you are!" Takato heard Henry calling him from behind. Sure enough, he and Rika were running after him.

"Hey guys," Takato replied with a grin.

"We found your jacket up there; we were a bit worried." Henry handed Takato the bloodstained jacket. Takato had taken it off while playing with Guilmon; he had forgotten all about it.

"Ew..." Henry muttered, using his pants to wipe a little blood off his hands.

Takato looked at the jacket. "Thanks, but I don't think I want to wear this any more." He found a nearby garbage can and dropped the coat, Michi's blood and all, inside. "I'll just get a new one."

"I can get you a discount on a nice one," Rika said absent-mindedly. Henry gave her a strange look. She glared at him and menacingly added, "What?"

"Whatever," Takato said, ignoring the friction between his two friends. "Where are the others?"

"Probably drunk," Henry answered, a little spite in his voice, "They seem a little too happy about all this."

Takato walked past them. "No reason we shouldn't be. After all, we live here."

"Well... yeah, I guess." Henry gave up and followed Takato back to the party.

"So, now that you're back, what are you going to do?" Rika asked Takato.

"It's my world. I'll do what I want," he replied, "I mean, once you've fulfilled your purpose, the only thing left to do is find another one."

Henry and Rika smiled, but neither answered. They just kept following Takato as he walked through the park. It was just him, his friends and the world. It was perfect.

Takato knew that whatever happened to him, he had control over it. Whatever happened to Michi, he knew that he no longer had any control over it. Whatever the fate of his world, he knew he would always be there to fight for it, and that he would not be alone.

He and his friends were walking back to a tremendous assortment of allies. There were the Chosen he had met long ago in the Digital World, the ones he had met in the real world, and those he had not met at all. There were also his fellow Tamers, and Ryo- who apparently qualified as "all of the above." Riley and Mari were there, capable digi-destined even if not Chosen or Tamers by definition, and represented all the wives, husbands, daughters and sons that would soon find solace in this world.

Whoever they were, and whether they realized it or not, all of them were home.

**This Ends The Connection**

**Author's Notes**  
It may not have always been at my full attention, but five years after Tamers ended in Japan (less about ten days), the journey is over. When I had originally envisioned the idea of Takato entering the Digital World and ending up on a soul-searching quest, I did not picture something like this. It was a subdued affair, thinking maybe I could use the adult digi-destined to assist Takato in bridging the gap between child hero and functional grown-up. That's when I remembered that we never quite found out how the digi-destined transitioned from child heroes to functional grown-ups.

If the opening chapter of Odaiba Memorial Day (remember that little thing?) was my image of the digi-destined's future, The Connection was my way of finding peace with the actual epilogue. As the premise for Level 1 began to flesh itself out, I began to consider how the digi-destined got to that point, and found that their stories and their fates had to be tied to Takato's. Only then did I realize that this was going to be a trilogy. And only after developing the history between the MaloMyotismon's defeat, the 02 epilogue and beyond did I realize how wild this story would become.

I could go on about the genesis of the story, but everything else I have to say about it is already embedded in the story itself. That includes my fascination with season two's ending. As much as we deride it (and at the time I hated it as much as anybody), building a backstory around it, and attempting to explain some of its ideosyncracies, has made me look at it now as a coal mine for fanfiction writers. It may not be pretty, but inside are resources with so many uses. So many ideas can be gleaned by just picking a concept from that epilogue and explaining how the hell it happened.

As far as the actual stage, since this story is ultimately about Takato, it makes sense to stop where I did, even if there is still more to be resolved. Michi's fate, Yasuo's resistance to punishment, the future of the MAXIS, Henry and Rika's quarrel, Jeri, and of course the Digiworld Chosen all are left somewhat hanging. All are addressed in this stage, so you might have some idea of what will happen. But where's the fun in resolving every little detail? Incidentally, if you were completely lost regarding the whole thing with Tai, consider it one last mind-fuck from me to you. If you got the jist of it- good.

Since it's all over now, there's no real secrets left to be had (except Tai, perhaps), so I have no problems with answering any final reviews or e-mails about what exactly was going on. I'll get to as many as I can, although keep in mind that some things like the Henry/Rika issue are meant to be ambiguous and any interpretation on my part would be pure speculation. If you want to talk in person, I'll be at Anime Central in Chicago this May and I love talking shop.

One last shout-out to any prereaders that helped me along the way. To Chromus for sticking with the story despite not being much of a Digimon fan. To Zach Kaiser for that time at ACen when I absolutely had to confess that I was killing off Tally, and for keeping his mouth shut when I did. To Gerjomarty for the tremendously thoughtful reviews (and the plug on your website). To Nikara for constantly re-reading everything to stay fresh (the one unaccounted for in the Digital World was Jeri/Mari). To anyone who took a skeptical eye to the backstory and forced me to put even more thought into it. To everybody who put up with the delays to Level 3 caused by work, stress, writer's block, or my own damn whim. And of course, to that guy who kept calling me a cryptic bastard- that's what I was going for. Thank you all for choosing this airline; I hope you enjoyed your trip (due to the delays, enclosed is a voucher for...).

While it's not a mind fuck per se, or fanfiction for that matter, I hope everybody checks out my next project, Magical Security Taskforce (initials may or may not be deliberate). It's a somewhat-satirical look at the fantasy/magic-user genre with a cast of characters that probably should have no business using magic. It will be posted in brief sessions every week or so (think of it as a webcomic without pictures), and should start around May. While it will be posted on you can also find it, and all of my other goodies, on my site

Once again, this ends The Connection.


End file.
